MP who grew up in council house elected chair of housing select committee

Thursday 12th of September 2024

Florence Eshalomi MP has been elected as the new chair of the select committee responsible for scrutinising government housing policy.

Shaun Davies MP, the newly elected Labour MP for Telford, also contested the position but received 121 votes compared to Eshalomi’s 437.

Clive Betts MP, who had chaired the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities committee, now called the Housing, Communities and Local Government committee, since 2010, put his name forward to remain in the role last month. However, he did not appear on the ballot.

Before the general election, Clive Betts MP had chaired the Housing, Communities and Local Government committee since 2010.

Although the standard term for committee chairs is limited to two parliaments or eight years, he was allowed to continue beyond this period. After the 2019 general election, the House of Commons waived the term limit for all committee chairs for the remainder of that parliament.

While chair of the committee, Betts led an inquiry into Michael Gove’s plan to force housebuilders to pay £4bn in cladding repair costs, which considered whether others should also be asked to pay up.

You can read the full article here in Housing Today.

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