John Prescott, who was Deputy Prime Minister under Tony Blair, was nicknamed ‘Two Jags’ because he owned one Jaguar, while having the use of another as his official ministerial car.

Actually, although he famously enjoyed a game of croquet with pals at Dorneywood, his grace-and-favour country house, Prescott’s tastes were relatively modest in comparison with those of the present Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner.

Ms Rayner – who is also Secretary of State for Housing – is amassing properties more determinedly than Prescott ever collected luxury motor cars. She now has three of them, one of which is a grand official apartment in central London. Arise Three Pads Rayner!

First there is a handsome, four-bedroom £650,000 detached house in her constituency of Ashton-under-Lyne, which she designated her primary residence on entering government. Most of her constituents would consider themselves blessed to call it home.

Then there is her grace-and-favour pad in Whitehall, whose lavish amenities she has been accused of trying to conceal by invoking national security laws. It transpires that in this apartment she enjoys the use of three bedrooms and three bathrooms.

Quite a spread for one woman, although we should not ignore the existence of her on-off partner, Sam Tarry, a former Left-wing Labour MP who was an adviser to Jeremy Corbyn.

The latest addition to her burgeoning property empire is an £800,000 seafront flat in Hove, Sussex, which has been brought to light by the Mail on Sunday. 

This agreeable three-bedroom property is described as large and airy. It is on the second floor of an elegant Victorian terrace with views of the sea.

Last Tuesday, Ms Rayner was photographed on Hove beach near to her new flat, clutching what looked like a glass of rosé (unless it was Ribena).

 She seemed pensive, and appeared to be accompanied by friends. Let’s hope their tranquillity wasn’t disturbed by asylum seekers clambering up the beach.

By my calculations, Three Pads Rayner has ten bedrooms at her disposal, which almost puts her in the stately home class. The number of bathrooms we can only guess at. Seven? Eight? At all events, she and Sam can move from bath to shower and on to another bath without ever getting bored.

There is, of course, no reason why a 45-year-old woman with a sizeable salary of £159,584 shouldn’t build up a property empire. 

Many would say that it all goes to show that the entrepreneurial spirit isn’t dead, and that capitalism still thrives in some corners of this kingdom.

The problem only arises because this particular 45-year-old woman is an avowed socialist who happens to be second-in-command (and some say Prime Minister in waiting) of a Government that is doing its damnedest to make life harder for ordinary homeowners.

Last week rumours abounded that the Chancellor Rachel Reeves is brewing up an unpleasant cocktail of measures for her forthcoming Budget that could include higher council tax for large houses, plus capital gains tax on people selling their main homes for more than £1.5 million.

Ms Rayner herself has piloted the Renters’ Rights Bill through the Commons, which will have the intended effect of making life miserable for landlords. 

One draconian clause would prevent them from re-listing their properties for a year if they try – and fail – to sell up. No rent for a whole year.

Then there is the new measure (inherited from the Tories in their final demented phase) allowing town halls to levy an extra 100 per cent council tax charge on second homes. Three Pads Rayner is an enthusiastic proponent.

Supporters of the Deputy Prime Minister may say that she won’t escape the full force of existing and planned policies bearing down on homeowners. Only up to a point, I would say.

In the first place, with her large salary she is in a more advantageous position than most people to absorb any new property taxes that may come her way. And it may be that Sam Tarry will be prepared to help out, if the couple are enjoying one of their ‘on’ rather than ‘off’ phases.

Even more to the point, as an MP Ms Rayner enjoys certain tax perks. If her constituency house is still designated her main residence, she is in theory liable to pay double council tax of £4,068 a year on her grace-and-favour Whitehall apartment as a second home.

Except that she will be able to claim half this amount from the taxpayer – as she got the Commons authorities to stump up the £1,621 council tax bill for a London flat she occupied before moving into her three-bedroom, three-bathroom official residence.

Or will she decide to nominate her new seafront flat as her second home, or even as her main one if that is more beneficial from a tax point of view? It’s undoubtedly complex, and expensive lawyers and accountants may have to be consulted.

We may be sure, though, that Ms Rayner will arrive at the solution that best benefits her. 

She successfully navigated a blizzard of accusations before the last election, including the allegation that she had misled tax officials in the sale of her council house in 2015. Greater Manchester Police said there was no case to answer.

There have been several property scandals involving junior ministers in this Government. I’ll mention just two. 

Anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq resigned in January after reports that she had been given a flat by someone linked to her aunt, a deposed prime minister of Bangladesh accused of embezzling millions.

Earlier this month, homelessness minister Rushanara Ali resigned after being accused of hypocrisy over the way she had handled rent increases on a house she owns in east London. Strange allegations to be made about someone supposedly looking after the homeless!

Hypocrisy is the central charge against Angela Rayner. Of course she has done nothing illegal. 

But she is building up a property portfolio at a time when she and other senior ministers are making it increasingly difficult for less privileged homeowners to keep their heads above water.

Am I being over-imaginative when I say that Ms Rayner reminds me a little of the nomenklatura who ran the old Soviet Union? They had their dachas in the country and their huge black official limousines (I once rode in one during a visit to Moscow) while ordinary people scraped along.

According to a group of leading economists, Britain is heading for a 1970s debt crisis and a bailout by the International Monetary Fund as Rachel Reeves lavishes billions she hasn’t got, and the interest Britain is paying on its debt continues to mount.

I fear those economists are right – which is why my analogy with the Soviet Union isn’t so far-fetched. In four years’ time we won’t be as poor as ordinary Russians were at the end of communism, but we will be borne down by ever rising taxes, including some on property.

Whatever happens, we may be sure Three Pads Rayner (it may be Four or Five Pads Rayner, by that time, with No 10 and Chequers added) will be fine, and so probably will Sam. These two fervent socialists will be untouched by the coming storm.