Housing minister Rachel Maclean has been ousted by prime minister Rishi Sunak in a cabinet reshuffle sparked by the firing of home secretary Suella Braverman.
The Conservative MP for Redditch, was the 15th housing minister appointed by the government since 2010. Maclean only took on the role in February this year, replacing Lucy Frazer who held the position for three months. She was removed from her post the day before she was due to present the renters reform bill to committee.
Maclean has been replaced by Lee Rowley who briefly served as housing minister last year under former prime minister Liz Truss. Rowley also previously served as construction minister under Boris Johnson.
Melanie Leech CBE, chief executive of the British Property Federation, said: “The revolving door of housing ministers has turned once more. For a sector that thrives on certainty and wants to see a long-term plan for housing, such discontinuity in personnel is a significant concern and actively undermines investment and long-term commitment across the sector.
“The government is facing numerous challenges in reviving stalling housing supply, plus delivering the critical infrastructure required for future economic growth and carbon reduction. To meet those challenges we require political stability and continuity in decision-making. Minister Maclean leaves with our thanks, as someone who was hardworking, engaged, and who took a deep interest in the benefits of good housing.”
Marc Vlessing, chief executive of Pocket Living, added: “At a time of market stagnation, with housing delivery numbers falling off a cliff and with SME housebuilders facing a very bleak future, we have the instability of yet another housing minister appointed to the brief. What we really need is political stability and resolute focus on tackling the housing crisis and getting new homes built, not a presentational government reshuffle.
“With only a year to go before the likely general election there is hardly any time for a new minister to learn the brief, build the relationships, and make a meaningful difference. This is yet another deeply unhelpful distraction from the delivery of urgent planning reform this country needs to build more homes.”
Charlie Hart, head of development consultancy at Knight Frank, said: “It is, regrettably, déjà vu time once again – another new housing minister in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities. Rachel Maclean was the sixth this country has had in the last 12 months, and the fifteenth we’ve had in the last decade. It is extremely challenging to develop coherent long-term strategy if leadership changes so regularly.
“If there is any hope of making serious and sustained improvements to the housing and planning system, this role cannot be treated as a revolving door. We need to find a way to keep housing ministers in post for longer than a few months, so that those tackling the big issues facing the real estate sector are in the role long enough to understand the challenges and enact long-term change.”
