Just one of David Cameron’s houses
Whilst there has been no formal announcement yet from the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG), Mark Prisk was sacked from the job yesterday and has not yet been replaced. This is despite the looming housing crisis with housebuilding at record low levels and every measure of homelessness rising. Editor of Conservative Home, Paul Goodman, last night claimed that non-entity Kris Hopkins will have responsibility for housing. Hopkins was promoted to Parliamentary Under Secretary at the DCLG yesterday, but that is a less senior role than the Minister of State he replaced.
In an astonishing turn of events Inside Housing are reporting that one of Hopkin’s colleagues, Nadine Dorries, said on twitter last night: “Very sad to see Kris Hopkins promoted. One of parliaments slimiest, nastiest MPs. Really. Awful. Decision.”
Hopkins was elected MP for Keighley in 2010 and his most prominent moment so far has been his claim in Parliament that “gangs of Muslim men were going around raping white kids” – which is the kind of thing likely to get you promoted in a Tory Party that’s desperately trying to save it’s skin by lurching to the right.
According to Inside Housing, it is still not fully clear who will take responsibility for housing with a spokesperson for the DCLG admitting they they hadn’t yet worked out who was doing what yet and people should ‘watch this space’.
Whether the Housing Minister’s role has been scrapped completely, or handed to an inexperienced shambles like Hopkins, it is clear the Prime Minister no longer thinks that housing is a priority . Why would he, he has at least four homes. Worrying about where to live is such a low priority for the David Cameron that in 2009 he even managed to forget how many houses he and his wife own.
He now seems to have forgotten – or just doesn’t care – that for many people in the UK, even renting just one home is fast becoming something they can’t afford.
