Simon Clarke, an MP since 2017, has been appointed as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, as part of Liz Truss’s new cabinet.
The MP, who represents Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, was widely tipped for the job, as reported by EYE yesterday.
Following his appointment, Clarke tweeted: “Delivering on Levelling Up for communities in all parts of our country, unlocking the homes we need and supporting the economic growth that is so central to @trussliz’s Government is our mission – will give it my all.
“This is a Department that I know really well, and which I am so looking forward to returning to – the commitment and expertise of officials there on themes as diverse as homelessness, building safety and devolution is second to none.”
Industry reaction to the announcement:
Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, said: “The new minister will need urgently to address the rental housing supply crisis. Damaging tax hikes and uncertainty over reforms to the private rented sector are leading many landlords to leave the market when demand for rented homes remains high. All this is doing is increasing rents, making it more difficult for those wanting to become homeowners.
“The government needs to look afresh at the rental reform White Paper to ensure the plans in it have the confidence of responsible landlords. This needs to include action to tackle anti-social tenants, scrapping plans that would damage the student housing market, and reforming the courts to ensure legitimate possession cases are dealt with more swiftly.”
Melanie Leech, chief executive at the British Property Federation, said: “We congratulate Simon Clarke on his new role and look forward to working with him. He will play a critical role in the prime minister’s plans to ‘deliver, deliver, deliver’, with levelling up, housing supply and carbon reduction all vital to the UK’s future prosperity and global competitiveness.
“We stand ready to work with the Secretary of State to unlock billions of pounds of property investment that will transform places across the UK and we urge him to take decisive action quickly, the clock is ticking.”
Marlon Lloyd Malcolm, head of sales at Lurot Brand, said: “The planning process continues to be archaic – to secure planning permission takes a lot of time, effort and red-tape. If the government really wants to fulfil its housing quota, address the lack of housing supply, meet national demand and maintain its levelling up manifesto, then streamlining the process should be a priority.”
Ashley Wilson, head of London buying at Middleton Advisors, commented: “The government should seek consultation from our industry.
“We need more help for first-time buyers, specifically in high-value areas such as London.
“The financial surcharges imposed on international buyer and second home buyers need to be rethought.”
Jack Reid, founder and joint MD at Orlando Reid, commented: “Over the last few years under the Conservative government, there seems to have been a concerted effort to make it harder to be a landlord. This has been done through the introduction of policies such as second home stamp duty in 2016, the removal of tax relief for landlords on costs such as their mortgage, and the tenancy fee ban of June 2019.
“With just these three examples, it is clear that the government has been trying to make it harder for landlords to enter the market and help first-time buyers get on the housing ladder. However, from what we have seen, the main impact has been on tenants because as a result, rents have increased and more landlords are quitting the market, reducing the amount of supply.
“Over the last 12 months, in areas around South West London, rents on some properties have increased by as much as 20% as tenants have to rush and pay above the asking price to beat the competition for homes, down to lack of supply.”
“We feel that the government needs to encourage landlords to return to the market in the short to medium term to help stabilise the market and limit the risk of homelessness,” he added.
Simon Clarke set to replace Greg Clarke as housing secretary
Blink and you will miss him.
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THE VERY MOST IMPORTANT issue facing everyday normal people this country today is the cost of living. Paying for a roof over your head has got ever more expensive compared to take home pay ever since the 1980’s. This is caused by complete inaction by government after government and housing minister after housing minister.
The REAL reason why? God only knows, but it is definitely time for real change before we end up with blood on the streets.
The new PM’s proposal to lend the energy companies money so that we can “ride out the storm” is insane because it means that every energy consumer will be paying that money back over the next couple of decades with added interest. That’s not a solution at all. She is proposing to make all of us normal people even poorer still.
Raising interest rate is also insane. The average mortgage payer in the street, or their landlord if they rent, is absolutely not the cause of the current levels of inflation. It is down to the mega corporations and the super rich gaming the system.
So why punish the little guy? Because you can spread the load and squeeze everyone until they squeak just a little bit. That means that people who really count (i.e. the mega rich and corporate bosses) will still provide the politicians with additional personal funding to keep their own political ambitions alive.
I grew up as a Tory boy. I am absolutely horrified by where taking Thatcher’s ideals to their logical conclusion has got us. I’m disgusted with our political class. They should be in it for the greater good, not their own narcissistic benefit.
I honestly can see blood in the streets, a la the Poll Tax riots.
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Utility companies make billions in profit, so they obviously need bailing out.
The Government has failed to build houses leading to a severe lack of supply, so this is obviously a landlords fault.
The downright stupidity of this government is astonishing.
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