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Housing Minister Rachel Maclean Sacked in Cabinet reshuffle

Journalist: Riz Malik

ended 13. November 2023

Rachel Maclean has been asked to step down from her role as Housing Minister, she has confirmed. Ms Maclean said on X: "I’ve been asked to step down from my role as Housing Minister. Disappointed and was looking forward to introducing the Renters Reform Bill to Committee tomorrow and later the Leasehold and Freehold Bill. It has been a privilege to hold the position and I wish my successor well.” Rachel has been in the post since February of this year and was the 15th housing minister since the Conservatives came to power in 2010. Newspage asked property and mortgage experts what this means for the UK housing market and whether it is feasible for a minister to effectively address the UK's housing crisis considering the often brief duration of their tenure.

13 responses from the Newspage community

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Justin Moy
Managing Director at EHF Mortgages
Given how important housing is to our society, it is a shame we have such a ministerial merry-go-round. Plenty of the property issues date back long before Maclean's time in the role, and there are not a lot of quick fixes either, so the need to remove her must be in readiness for an election. Why does the Government continue to play roulette with some of the most important roles in the cabinet?
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Amit Patel
Adviser at Trinity Finance
Rishi Sunak marks the start of the Hindu New Year with a reshuffle of the Cabinet with yet another Housing Minister. The housing crisis is getting worse and yet this Government have no stability in this key position. They bang on that this is a top priority for them but I have little faith that they want to address the issue. We've now had more housing ministers than managers at Chelsea football club since 2010.
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Scott Taylor-Barr
Principal Adviser at Barnsdale Financial Management
No Government department can hope to perform well without consistent leadership and, sadly, housing seems to be one department where this Government likes to play musical chairs more than most. This is a shame, as it's an area that's vital to the economy and the vast majority of people's sense of security and well-being. The recent fiasco around wall-cladding is a perfect example of how a lack of consistency in post can cause harm and distress to a huge number of people.
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Graham Cox
Director at Bridging Hub
It shows how little this Government care about housing that they so easily swap out housing ministers every five minutes. It's either that or the quality of ministers being appointed is desperately poor. Either way, what a lamentable administration this is. We're in the middle of a housing crisis, with rents and mortgages soaring. The country deserves better.
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Riz Malik
Independent Financial Adviser at R3 Wealth
Today's cabinet reshuffle is Rishi's one last push to secure a victory at the next election. Based on recent polls, it's likely that the incoming Housing Minister will also serve for less than a year. This highlights one of the main reasons why the UK's housing crisis may never be solved.
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Michelle Lawson
Director at Lawson Financial
This came as no surprise. This post needs to be made a senior role with more responsibility rather than a junior role feeding the higher departments. Housing is one of the fundamentals of the UK economy and, given the current housing crisis, needs someone that can turn it around for the better before the whole thing implodes further. It needs a long-term plan, not endless short-termism.
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Simon Bridgland
Director at Release Freedom
What a shambles. The UK has such a dire need to get this right, yet such incompetence is displayed. Is this role the government equivalent of being sat on the naughty step? You've been very naughty, just sit there and don't touch anything. So don't hold your breath on anything changing (other than the new minister) or improving. How can any new policy be introduced let alone seen through to the end with yet another department flutterby dipping its proboscis into the housing department's nectar, then stumbling onto the next pretty flower that grabs their attention? Changes need to be pushed through and seen to work before any confidence can be given to minister 16. I've just submitted my application for the post, my ticket says No.31, please take a seat. So apparently, there are 15 candidates in front of me...I'm hopeful of my successful application before the summer recess after the others have had a go.
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Rohit Kohli
Director at The Mortgage Stop
Not again! This just shows that this government has no clue about housing and what state it is in. We need to get serious about the state of housing and the property market. Renters, homeowners, landlords and developers alike should all feel let down by this merry-go-round of ministers.
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Elliott Culley
Director at Switch Mortgage Finance
Fifteen housing ministers since 2010 says all you need to know. It's very difficult to get any traction on improving and supporting the housing market if you don't have adequate time to introduce your vision and plans.
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Stephen Perkins
Managing Director at Yellow Brick Mortgages
Housing ministers change more often than the protection against the dark arts professors at Hogwarts. Sadly each having no positive impact before they are replaced.
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Gary Bush
Financial Adviser at MortgageShop.com
ANOTHER HOUSING MINISTER. The UK is never going to gain the much-needed traction in housebuilding with a change at the top coming so frequently. To have had 15 MPs in this position, which is so valuable to the general public, in the time that the Tories have been in power demonstrates the lack of importance they give to this post. Sad news.
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Gary Boakes
Director at Verve Financial
Another one bites the dust. Sadly I've lost count of how many housing ministers we have had over the last few years. How can a government department be expected to perform well with so much change of leadership, and this has shown over the last few years with the lack of polices. On the one hand, we want new houses to be built, but then we stopped help-to-buy and didn't have an adequate replacement for this. That is just one of many mistakes the government has made and is it any wonder? Housing is huge for the UK economy and we need someone that can lead a department who is in their position long enough to make a mark.
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Rowan Frayling
Managing Director at J Finance
With another changing of the guard, it is easy to see why we aren't seeing much meaningful progress with regards to the reform bills, or perhaps any government assistance to boost the housing market. With 15 ministers in 13 years, it seems unlikely that anyone can retain their tenure long enough to have an impact.
We need a strong pair of hands to steer the housing market, and a pair of hands that won't be back out the door in a few months time.