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Cleverly handed shadow housing role in reshuffle of Conservative front bench
Sir James Cleverly has been made shadow housing secretary after Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch reshuffled her senior team.
Cleverly handed shadow housing role in reshuffle of Conservative front bench #UKhousingSir James Cleverly has been made shadow housing secretary after Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch reshuffled her senior team #UKhousingSir James replaces Kevin Hollinrake, who will become chair of the party. Earlier this year, Mr Hollinrake had promised a citizen-led approach to “rewire and reboot” the Conservatives’ policy offer on housing.
Sir James, who previously was both foreign and home secretary, will now go head-to-head with Labour’s Angela Rayner, deputy prime minister and housing secretary, in parliament.
While he was home secretary last year, the National Housing Federation, Crisis and 35 other organisations urged Sir James to reconsider plans to fine and imprison rough sleepers.
Homelessness charities had long campaigned for the government to repeal the Vagrancy Act 1824, but Conservative ministers said they would only do so when replacement laws covering rough sleeping are in place.
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The current Labour government revealed in June 2025 that it intends to scrap the 200-year-old law which makes rough sleeping a criminal offence in England and Wales.
Sir James had been a backbench MP since being eliminated from the Conservative leadership election in October 2024. Ms Badenoch then went on to defeat closest rival Robert Jenrick, who is now shadow justice secretary.
During the leadership race, Sir James argued that his party needed to remake the argument for conservatism and capitalism, by supporting people to build a family, and build more homes.
He said: “Build more homes so we can build a new generation of optimism in the tradition of [Harold] Macmillan and [Margaret] Thatcher.
“Cut the cost of childcare, so people can afford to build a family. Cut red tape so we can build the energy and transport infrastructure we need more cheaply. Build, build, build.”
Sir James received a knighthood in April 2025 as part of former prime minister Rishi Sunak’s resignation honours list.
Making his first intervention as show housing secretary, Sir James told Times Radio he believes that the current prime minister is more interested in accommodation for asylum seekers than young British workers.
He said: “I was furious, I genuinely couldn’t believe he said… there are plenty of houses around the UK for asylum seekers.”
This was after he described Sir Keir Starmer on X as “clueless or dishonest (possibly both)”.
Sir James was responding to a comment Sir Keir made during an inquiry session where he suggested that many councils have “lots of housing” that could be used to accommodate asylum seekers.
The prime minister also defended his government’s freeze of Local Housing Allowance, but said there will be a chance to “look again” at the issue in the next Budget.
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