Labour’s Uxbridge candidate bemoans rent stress while co-owning £500k pad

Danny Beales campaigning in Hillingdon (Image: Getty) Labour’s candidate in the upcoming Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election is facing derision after claiming to sympathise with the stress of being a renter in London. In a recent interview with The Times , candidate Danny Beales said: ‘I know how it feels with rising rents, food and heating bills. “I’m renting a room in Hillingdon now and it’s £650 a month.’ Asked what he would do if he had Boris Johnson’s level of income, Mr Beales said: ‘I’m not someone who needs lots of houses, I just want the security of owning my house one day’. Despite Mr Beales’ emotional plea to one day own his own house, the Express can reveal he’s already well on his way to achieving this. Danny Beales with Labour Shadow Cabinet members (Image: Getty) Land registry records state Mr Beales to already co-owns a flat in Camden, with an approximate value of over half-a-million pounds. Mr Beales jointly purchased his central London pad in February 2017 for £471,000, though according to Nationwide, property values in his postcode have risen almost 7 percent since purchase, meaning his home now exceeds £500,000 in value. Meanwhile the average property value in South Ruislip is £470,000, or £404,000 for the average flat. On his nomination papers, Mr Beales said he lives at an ‘address in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip Constituency’, though it remains unspecified. Standing in last year’s local elections as a candidate in Camden, he listed his address within the borough. Tory candidate Steve Tuckwell says the revelation is “shocking” (Image: Steve Tuckwell) The Labour candidate is now facing allegations of being disingenuous with voters, both over where he lives and his interview about the struggles of renting. The Tories’ candidate, Steve Tuckwell, has told the Express: ‘The fact that Danny Beales still lives in a pad he owns in Camden means he hasn’t been living the concerns of people right here in Uxbridge and South Ruislip’. ‘Him suggesting he cannot afford a place of his own – when he already has a high end flat in Camden in his name – is shocking.’ A Tory source added: ‘When he owns a £500K Camden pad, complaining about rising rents, when he’s renting by choice due to already being on the property ladder, is a bit on the nose’. “Danny doesn’t represent Outer London, and should stick to sniping from the comfort of his central London council chamber and Camden flat.” Responding to the allegations, a Labour campaign spokesman told the Express he has not misrepresented his living situation. ‘If elected, Danny will be the full-time, local MP that residents in Uxbridge and South Ruislip deserve’. ‘Danny was born at Hillingdon Hospital, went to Deanesfield and Abbotsfield schools and grew up in the constituency. He has always considered this community to be his home. ‘For too long, residents here have been let down by a Conservative government that has crashed the economy and left families in Uxbridge and South Ruislip to pick up the bill.’ Mr Beales is renting in Uxbridge and registered to vote in the constituency. Voters in Boris Johnson’s former constituency will cast their votes on July 20, with a new poll out this morning showing Labour to have a significant lead over the Tories and on course to take the seat for the first time since 1966.