Here’s a question for you: is it ever OK for a Member of Parliament to be a landlord ? The scandal surrounding (now former) homelessness minister Rushanara Ali’s treatment of four tenants in east London begs us to ask the question.

Ali resigned last night after The i Paper revealed that she had told tenants she was selling their home , only to relist it weeks after they left for £700 a month more in rent.

As it stands, this is legal, but as soon as next year, under the Renters’ Rights Bill crafted by Ali’s own department, it will be banned.

And that is why advisers and ministers probably decided Ali had to go.

Until the Great Reform Act of 1832, you could only be a member of Britain’s Parliament if you were a landowner. Landlords had enormous influence over Britain’s laws until v

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