Latest housing minister appointed

The Government has named Kit Malthouse, MP for North West Hampshire and former deputy mayor of London, as the latest housing minister, moving into the role vacated yesterday by Dominic Raab.

Raab was appointed Brexit secretary following the resignation of David Davis on Sunday. Davis’s decision was the first in what has led to a Domino-effect of senior Government departures, including Boris Johnson’s resignation as foreign secretary yesterday.

Malthouse becomes the seventeenth housing minister in 20 years, taking on a role which has become notorious for its ministerial transience. Most incumbents last less than 18 months before being moved into other sectors, leading the department for housing, communities & local government to become known merely as a holding pen for ambitious politicians.

Malthouse was previously at the department for work & pensions, where he was under-secretary for family support, housing and child maintenance. He is an accountant by trade, and studied in Sudley, Liverpool and Newcastle.

Reacting to the news, Melanie Leech, chief executive, British Property Federation, said: “The housing sector will be frustrated with yet one more housing minister, but there are extenuating circumstances and the national interest must come first. However, if the Government is to meet its aspirations of delivering 300,000 new homes each year, this revolving door of housing ministers must stop.

“What’s most important now is that we do not lose momentum behind the housing policies born out of the Housing White Paper, which supported housing of all tenures including build-to-rent. We welcome Malthouse, we hope his previous experience at City Hall and Westminster City Council means he can hit the ground running, and we look forward to working with him to undo the damage caused by the acute undersupply of new housing over the past few decades.”