Russell Quirk: ‘We need a housing Tsar to prevent more broken housing promises’

Ex-estate agent, PR Man and now TV host Russell Quirk says whoever becomes Prime Minister and walks into 10 Downing Street, desperately needs to appoint a Housing Tsar to solve the UK’s housing crisis – and has even offered to take on the job himself!

There have been 12 housing ministers since 2010 – 20 since 1997 – creating an absence of any long-term housing strategy to tackle the chronic undersupply of suitable housing in the UK.

Speaking at the final leadership Hustings in London last week Liz Truss (pictured left) said she will abolish top-down housing targets that her supporters say have resulted in tower blocks dominating the capitals skyline and give local councils more power to build more family homes.

Meanwhile rival Rishi Sunak (pictured right) said the UK needs to be less squeamish about flat-pack modular homes which can be built quickly and cheaply in order to solve the housing crisis. And he said the government needed to increase the number of homes being built on brownfield sites and pledged further reform of the mortgage sector in order to help first-time buyers on to the property ladder.

HOUSING TSAR

But Russell Quirk has hit back at the wannabe Prime Ministers and says a lack of long-term strategy is exasperating the issue but a permanent Tsar might be able to fix it.

It doesn’t matter what Liz Truss says she’ll do – she probably won’t – or can’t.”

He tells The Neg: “I stopped believing politicians’ promises on the subject of fixing the problem of housing supply long ago.

“It doesn’t matter what Liz Truss says she’ll do – she probably won’t – or can’t – and that’s been the same for successive Prime Ministers and Housing Ministers since the premiership of Harold MacMillian in 1957.

“The issue needs a Housing Tsar – I might be available!”

Some 160,000 Tory party members have voted to decide who will replace Boris Johnson.

The new Prime Minister will be announced later today.