The Generation Rent activist group has selected its latest chief executive – and once again the successful candidate has had long-standing links with the Labour Party.

Until very recently Holly Williamson ran the constituency office of Labour MP John Healey, leaving only just before he became Chancellor this week in the Andy Burnham administration.

Williamson follows in the footsteps of Ben Twomey, the Generation Rent chief executive who left earlier this month – he had been a past Labour election candidate.

His predecessor was Baroness Alicia Kennedy of Cradley who had a long career with Labour, working as a full time party organiser, a political adviser to a Labour MP and adviser to Ed Miliband when he led the party in the early 2010s.

Williamson’s first official statement on behalf of Generation Rent this week was a statement repeating the organisation’s long-standing call for rent controls.

She says: “Homes are the foundations of our lives. We wouldn’t accept paying such extortionate prices for our food shop, so why do we accept it when it comes to our homes? 

“High rents are backbreaking for renters across the country. It [sic] can mean children going to school hungry, families trapped living in temporary accommodation for years, or older renters choosing between heating or eating.  

“The cost of renting is like a runaway train with no driver, leaving too many renters as passengers with no control over our lives. 

“With another spike in inflation looming, Andy Burnham’s government can and must act urgently, by bringing in a limit on how much landlords can hike our rents.”

However, despite the call, mainstream media reports suggest that Burnham’s team is discounting rent controls in the immediate future at least.

The Generation Rent chief executive’s position was advertised in the spring with a salary of circa £68,000.