New Housing Secretary likely to be known within 48 hours

It is thought that a new Housing Secretary to replace Greg Clarke may be named within hours, if as expected Liz Truss is today named as the new Prime Minister.

If Truss wins - the announcement is at lunchtime - she will become Prime Minister on Tuesday, after Boris Johnson tenders his resignation in person to The Queen at Balmoral. 

As there has been a lengthy period of hustings and voting amongst Conservative party members, and as Truss has been the favourite to win almost since the start of the campaign, it is thought that she has already effectively selected her top table team.

If that is the case, Clarke’s successor will be named on Tuesday afternoon. 

Clarke has held the role since the sacking of his predecessor, Michael Gove, by Boris Johnson in early July.

There was speculation early in the Tory leadership campaign that Jacob Rees-Mogg would be the new Housing Secretary, but these rumours have subsided in recent weeks.

The current ministers at the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities - all of which are ranked below the Housing Secretary position - are Paul Scully, Eddie Hughes, Lia Nici and Marcus Jones. Their successors are likely to be named later this week.

Truss has already pledged no new property taxes under her rule, should she win. She has told a Tory party membership hustings event that she would prefer to slash taxes rather than introduce “handouts”. 

There were no questions specifically related to housing but when questioned on her fiscal plans in general she said there would be “no new taxes” under her premiership and rejected short term taxation as a way out of the current inflation and cost of living crises.

The first industry commentator to speak about a likely Truss victory is Knight Frank's head of residential research, Tom Bill.

He says: "First, you can expect the usual gnashing of teeth as the tally of housing ministers in recent years is likely to rise by one. Some will also read between the lines of what the winning candidate has said about the property market on the campaign trail. I’m not sure either really matters this time - if they ever did.

"How the new government deals with the cost-of-living squeeze will have a greater impact than the latest headline-grabbing initiative designed to unleash a wave of housebuilding across the country.

"Financial markets (and Rishi Sunak) are already feeling jittery about Liz Truss’s proposed support package for the economy. Tax cuts could stoke inflation, send interest rates higher and damage the economy, her opponents have warned.

"With inflation already in double-digits, the stakes are high and management of the economy will be the most critical issue for the housing market between now and the next election. In other words, pay more attention to what the new Chancellor says rather than the new housing minister."

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