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Lee Rowley returns as housing minister a year after having left the role
Lee Rowley has been handed the housing minister role again, just over 12 months after he was replaced in the job.
The MP for North East Derbyshire has taken up the position for a second time, after Rachel Maclean became the latest housing minister to lose her job after less than a year in post.
The changes were made as part of a major reshuffle of Rishi Sunak’s cabinet this week.
Mr Rowley will become the 16th housing minister since the Conservatives came to power in 2010, and the 23rd person to have the role since 1997.
He was also the 13th housing minister; his previous stint lasted just 49 days. He was replaced by Lucy Frazer in November last year.
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Ms Frazer held the job for 91 days before being replaced by Ms Maclean, who was sacked yesterday, in February.
Some reports have suggested that the prime minister’s decision is getting some pushback from the Redditch MP’s cabinet-level supporters.
Mr Rowley, who spent 13 years in finance and consultancy roles before becoming an MP, was appointed as housing minister by Liz Truss in September last year, when she was prime minister.
After being replaced by Ms Frazer when Mr Sunak took over as prime minister, he remained in the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities. He has been the local government and building safety minister for the past year.
Sector bodies congratulated Mr Rowley on his reappointment.
Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation (NHF), wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Having worked constructively with you on building safety, the NHF and housing associations look forward to working with you again on this and other key issues for the social housing sector.”
In a message to Mr Rowley, the Chartered Institute of Housing said: “We look forward to working with you again.”
Other sector figures flagged the challenges he faces. Jamie Ratcliff, chief communities and sustainability officer at SNG, formerly Sovereign Housing Association, said: “While we welcome Mr Rowley and look forward to working with him, housing can only be built on stable foundations and we hope that the arrival of yet another housing minister will see progress to deliver homes, including those needed by the 131,000 children in temporary accommodation, rather than more delay.
“We are ready to deliver, but we need the tools. A long-term rent settlement that enables long-term investment and reform of planning to deliver sustainable homes should not continue sitting in the long grass.”
Nicholas Harris, chief executive of Stonewater, said he hoped Mr Rowley’s reappointment would bring “longevity and stability at a time when the national housing crisis continues to deepen”.
He added: “With previous knowledge of the extensive housing portfolio and needs across our sector, we hope the minister will be able to ensure affordable housing provision is a main priority for the government.”
North Dorset MP Simon Hoare announced on X he has been appointed as local government minister to replace Mr Rowley in the role. It is not clear at this stage whether his responsibilities will also include building safety.
