Robert Jenrick has been named the new Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, while Esther McVey has been appointed Housing Minister, as part of the cabinet reshuffle carried out by the new Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Jenrick replaces James Brokenshire, who has left the position after just over 12 months in the role.
Jenrick, aged 37, previously worked in the Treasury as Exchequer Secretary, and prior to that he was the Parliamentary Private Secretary of Michael Gove, during his time as Justice Secretary, and Amber Rudd, during her time as Home Secretary.
McVey has replaced Kit Malthouse as Housing Minister, who spent just 12 months in the role.
Many property professionals are frustrated with the merry-go-round of housing ministers, with McVey becoming the 17th MP to hold this role in 19 years.
Malthouse’s predecessor, Dominic Raab, held the housing ministerial post for just six months, which is clearly not enough time to fix the broken housing market, especially as Prime Minister Theresa May had identified it as a key priority of her government.
Commenting on the issue, Trevor Abrahmsohn, director at Glentree Estates, said: “The successive changes of Housing Ministers and the distractions of the Brexit debacle, have in combination, not assisted this vital social requirement and let us hope that the new Tory administration will do a better job.”
Meanwhile, Johnson appointed former Housing Minister Dominic Raab as Foreign Secretary, while Sajid Javid, a former Housing Secretary, is the newly appointed Chancellor.
