Gavin Barwell Announced as New Housing Minister

Gavin Barwell has been announced as the new Housing Minister under the Prime Minister, Theresa May.

Yesterday, Barwell revealed on Twitter that he has been appointed as the Minister of State for Housing and Planning, and also the Minister for London.

Barwell, the MP for Croydon Central, has joined the team at the Department for Communities and Local Government, which is being led by Sajid Javid, who was appointed Secretary of State last week.

Although little is known of Barwell’s views on housing, he is eager to protect green space in his constituency and has successfully launched a petition to prevent the local council building homes on Croydon’s playing fields.

He tweeted yesterday: “Hugely honoured to have been asked by the Prime Minister to serve as Minister of State for Housing and Planning and Minister for London.

“Look forward to working with councils, housing associations, developers and investors to ensure we build the homes people need and deserve and to working with the Mayor of London to ensure the continued success of our wonderful, diverse capital – and that all Londoners share in it.”

Barwell has been an MP since 2010, when he won by 2,969 votes. The following year, he was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Greg Clark, the then Minister for Cities and Decentralisation.

In 2012, he was made PPS to Michael Gove, the then Secretary of State for Education, before becoming a Government Whip.

Following the riots throughout London, Barwell was instrumental in securing £25m in funding to rebuild Croydon.

He also introduced the Mental Health (Discrimination) Act 2013 and helped to bring in Lillian’s Law – named after a 14-year-old constituent who was killed by a driver who had taken illegal drugs.

Earlier this year, Barwell wrote a book titled How to Win a Marginal Seat: My Year Fighting for my Political Life. The book is an account of the 2015 general election, when he won by just 165 votes.

The former Housing Minister, Brandon Lewis, has now moved to the Home Office to become Minister of State for Policing and the Fire Service.