Print

Third time lucky for Housing Minister?

Catherine Deshayes

Margaret Beckett, MP for Derby South, has taken over the position of Housing Minister from Caroline Flint, becoming the third person to hold the top spot within a year, and the eighth since Labour came to power...

It's a tough job but someone's got to do it, and former Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett has become the latest lady to hold the top job following a ministerial reshuffle.

She takes up the reins from Caroline Flint, who was appointed as Housing Minister in January of this year, and has stayed in the post a mere nine months. Ms Beckett will attend cabinet in her new position, which is an elevation for the role of Housing Minister. The 65-year-old moves from her role as the head of the Prime Minister's Intelligence and Security Committee.

Ms Flint, who is now moving to the Foreign Office, oversaw a housing market at its worst, with plummeting property prices and the collapse of private housebuilding.

A blunder by Ms Flint led to her notes predicting a housing crash being made public in May of this year. What was intended as an internal briefing was publicised when she accidentally exposed her notes to photographers as she arrived for a meeting.

The notes predicted tumbling house prices, saying, ‘Given present trends, they will clearly show sizeable falls in prices later this year - at best down 5 to 10 per cent year on year. Housebuilding is stalling. New starts are already down 10 per cent compared to a year ago. Housebuilders are predicting further falls.'

Margaret Beckett can trace her ministerial experience back to the 1970s, when as a young MP for Lincoln, she was a Junior Education Minister. Since then she's held a wide range of portfolios in opposition and in Government.

After losing her seat in the Tory landslide of 1979, she returned to Parliament four years later as MP for Derby South. She was Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1992 to 1994 and was briefly its leader in 1994 following the premature death of John Smith.

In Tony Blair's Government, Ms Beckett was Trade and Industry minister, Environment Secretary and then as Foreign Secretary.

As the housing market is so vulnerable at the moment, industry experts fear that another change in the ivory towers could be extremely damaging.

Liz Peace, Chief Executive of the British Property Federation, was unimpressed with the switch, "We despair at the turbulence of having such a turnover of ministers.

"Caroline Flint demonstrated a firm understanding of housing and planning policy but after just nine months and at a time when we need stability, we have a new Minister."

"However, Margaret Beckett's experience will be vital in helping reshape the fortunes of the housing market.

"The British Property Federation looks forward to working with her at this most crucial of times and to discussing how the professional rented sector can make a serious contribution to dealing with the housing needs of the current generation.

"Not withstanding the confusion over the green agenda, the industry is wholly committed to working closely with ministers to further develop a path of change to deal with the energy and environmental performance of the built environment," Ms Peace added.

The Home Builders Federation's Executive Chair Stewart Baseley said, "These are critical times for house builders and the Government needs to be working closely with the industry if we are to find a way of delivering the new private and social homes this country needs.

"The recent Office of Fair Trading report showed the industry is fit for purpose, but in the current economic climate we need to see the Government action to assist the market and facilitate a way forward that safeguards housing delivery.

"Ms Beckett inherits a challenging brief and one that needs a decisive Minister who will take the difficult decisions and address the issues we currently face. We look forward to working with her," added Mr Baseley.

The Town and Country Planning Association's Chief Executive Gideon Amos seemed happier with the new appointment, highlighting Ms. Beckett's maturity and experience as factors which could be extremely beneficial to the housing market.

"Margaret Beckett has vast experience in the Cabinet and taken a keen interest in delivering genuine sustainable development through her time as Secretary of State for DEFRA and the Foreign Office.

"Caroline Flint has been a driving force in the growth points and eco-town agenda - these remain vital initiatives for her successor," Mr Amos added.

At a time when the UK property market is in desperate need of some stability and positivity, the appointment of yet another person to the top job highlights the uncertainty surrounding the issue of housing, and will do nothing for consumer confidence, which has already been damaged by the turmoil of the last few months.

Former minister Peter Mandelson also returns to the cabinet as Secretary of State for business, enterprise and regulatory reform, with a seat in the House of Lords. Mandelson moves back from the European Union where he was Trade Commissioner.

Picture by wallyg