09 Jul 24
Greenwich and Woolwich MP with a track record of campaigning on low pay, renter rights and placemaking takes key DLUHC brief
Matthew Pennycook is Labour’s new housing minister, following Angela Rayner’s appointment as Housing Secretary and deputy leader.
He is the MP who tabled an amendment to the Renters (Reform) Bill which would have prevented landlords from selling for two years after a tenancy had started.
The MP for Greenwich and Woolwich said: “It is a real honour to have been appointed Minister of State at the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).
Pennycook, who was-re-elected as MP for Greenwich and Woolwich with a majority of over 18,000, had served as shadow housing minister since 2021.
Pennycook, aged 41, is seen by many as a rising star within the Labour party.
“Tackling the housing crisis and boosting economic growth is integral to national renewal. Time to get to work.” He has in the past shown a keen interest in tackling poverty and low pay. He volunteered with the Child Poverty Action Group and worked for the Resolution Foundation thinktank on issues including welfare reform and working party, later serving on the Living Wage Foundation’s board.
More recently he was played a prominent role in Labour’s scrutiny of the Renters (Reform) Bill, tabling an amendment that would have prevented landlords selling a property for two years after a tenancy has begun.
Propertymark welcomes Mr Pennycook’s appointment
Nathan Emerson, the chief executive of Propertymark, said the organisation welcomes Mr Pennycook’s appointment.
He added: “Housing must play a pivotal role for the government moving forwards and in real terms, delivering over 1,100 new homes every single working day for the next five years will take immense planning and enormous stakeholder engagement to achieve.
“There needs to be a long-term cross-party approach with continuity built in as standard – we should never be looking at a housing plan as an insular five-year government term, in case of any change down the line.
“There must be a broad mix of sustainably built homes that brings much needed stock to both buyers and renters. The plan must be delivered with precision and in a way that is connected with wider government planning to ensure key infrastructure is provisioned for as the population further grows.”
Proposals to alter planning rules
Meanwhile, Labour has asked former Conservative minister Nick Boles to help deliver proposals to alter planning rules to ‘get Britain building’.
An announcement is expected in the next few days about how the government will deliver millions of promised new homes.
Mr Boles was the planning minister in David Cameron’s coalition government and his job is to make it to build new homes to ease the housing crisis and deliver gigafactories and laboratories.
The new rules could see mandatory home-building targets for local authorities being reintroduced and making it easier to build on green belt land.
Labour says it will be selecting building sites by the end of the year.
Pennycook has spoken of the importance of “placemaking”, ensuring housing developments have infrastructure such as schools, shops and other facilities to support them.
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