Housing stalwart gets policy review brief
Housing stalwart and former Inside Housing columnist Jon Cruddas is to co-ordinate Labour’s policy review.
The MP for Dagenham and Rainham will replace Liam Byrne, who will remain as Labour’s shadow work and pensions spokesperson, in a shadow cabinet reshuffle.
Mr Cruddas has a long-standing interest in housing and has written columns for Inside Housing magazine on issues such as homeownership.
All of his columns can be viewed on our website, and some are listed below.
He has suggested the government should move away from the emphasis on homeownership and make renting a more attractive option.
He has also been critical of the government’s cuts to housing benefit, saying it will mean thousands of people will lose their homes by being priced out of the private rented sector.
The policy review started in 2010 and will form the basis of Labour’s manifesto in the next general election.
Mr Cruddas was tipped to become housing minister in 2008. Sources close to him said he had held ‘tentative discussions’ with then prime minister Gordon Brown. But Margaret Beckett was finally appointed to the role in the government reshuffle of October that year.
