Latest housing minister sacked after just nine months

Rachel Maclean has lost her job as housing minister as the revolving door removes another politician.

Housing minister Rachel Maclean has been sacked just over nine months after being appointed to the role.

She became the fifth housing minister in just eight months in what is now a revolving door at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).

Maclean’s replacement will be the 16th housing minister in the space of 13 years.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is reshuffling his Cabinet and junior ministerial team after removing controversial Suella Braverman as Home Secretary.

In a message on X, formerly Twitter, Maclean, who is the MP for Redditch in the West Midlands, says: “I’ve been asked to step down from my role as Housing Minister.

“Disappointed and was looking forward to introducing the Renters Reform Bill to Committee tomorrow and later the Leasehold and Freehold Bill.

“It has been a privilege to hold the position and I wish my successor well.”

Industry reaction

Nick Leeming, chairman of Jackson-Stops, says: “After just 279 days in the role housing minister Rachel Maclean has been sacked by the Prime Minister in what has become another manic Monday for the Government.

“The timing for a new housing minister couldn’t have been worse, with Maclean due to introduce the Renters Reform Bill tomorrow, and the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement less than two weeks away.

“With recent news that housebuilding has fallen to its lowest level since the financial crisis, there is mounting pressure for the Government to produce a reliable and experienced figurehead to this role, and quickly,” he says.

Simon Gerrard imageSimon Gerrard, MD of Martyn Gerrard Estate Agents, says: “It comes as a great disappointment, but frankly little surprise, that the housing brief has yet again changed hands within this government.

“There will be a collective groan of ‘here we go again’ from those of us working in the property sector, and indeed anybody with a vested interest in the housing market.

“We’re now onto our 16th housing minister since the government came into power 13 years ago,” he says.

“How can any long-term progress be made on reforming our planning system, solving the housing crisis, and ensuring our children have homes to live in when we have such a shockingly high turn-over of ministers tasked with tackling these issues?”


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