Angela Rayner repeatedly threatened to resign from the Cabinet over the impossible target of building 1.5 million homes in the next five years - and was reportedly only talked out of it by a call from Tony Blair

Angela Rayner has repeatedly threatened to resign from the Cabinet over the impossible target of building 1.5 million homes in the next five years, according to the new updated biography of Sir Keir Starmer.

Lord Ashcroft writes in Red Flag it was only a call from Tony Blair that prevented the Deputy Prime Minister from quitting.

The book also says she resented having to fight to be given the use of a grace-and-favour property such as Dorneywood after Labour won the election – with the Prime Ministers aides reportedly trying to fob her off with a property in Northern Ireland. 

Eventually, in December 2024, she was handed an apartment in Admiralty House.

Earlier this year, Ms Rayner warned there was no excuse not to meet her goal of 1.5million new homes before the next election in 2029.

Labour sources told The Mail On Sunday last night Ms Rayner was justified in her scepticism about the housing goal. 

One said: The fact is we dont have enough bricks and there isnt enough water to supply these houses.

One Labour MP said: I think Rayner realised a while ago that the 1.5million new homes target is undeliverable. But now the pennys dropped for Angies team that she was set up to fail on this all along. 

Lord Ashcroft writes in Red Flag it was only a call from Tony Blair that prevented the Deputy Prime Minister from quitting

Earlier this year, Ms Rayner warned there was no excuse not to meet her goal of 1.5million new homes before the next election in 2029

There are some people around Starmer who made sure she was given an impossible task because they never wanted her to succeed Keir. They wanted to finish off any chance she had of becoming PM and I think that plan is working.

Lord Ashcroft writes: She is still prone to stirring up trouble... one occasion she threatened to resign because she felt shed been set the impossible target of Labour building 1.5 million new homes. 

It took a call from Tony Blair to talk her down – which, incidentally, tells you how important Blair is to the Starmer project.

A source close to Ms Rayner said: We do not recognise the claims made. Angela is proud to be serving as Deputy Prime Minister in Keirs cabinet and delivering on Labours crystal clear commitment to build 1.5 million homes as part of our Plan for Change. 

They added the OBR forecast in March that planning reforms would deliver the highest level of UK housebuilding in 40 years.