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

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.

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.

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The committee’s most recent inquiry into shared ownership called for reforms to the tenure, stating that it does not provide an affordable route on to the housing ladder for “too many people”.

Eshalomi, the MP for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green, grew up on a council estate in Brixton. Prior to becoming an MP, she served as a London Assembly Member and Lambeth councillor, where she worked on urban development and housing shortage issues.

In a post of X, formerly Twitter, Eshalomi wrote: 

In a statement, Eshalomi said: “I am delighted to be elected Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee. Fixing the housing crisis and ensuring more homes are built are crucial missions for the country and I am sure my Committee will wish to consider our approach to scrutinising the Government’s progress in these areas.

“Building safety, the rights of social housing tenants and private renters, local government finances, adult social care and strengthening our communities are also big issues for this Parliament.

“I hope the Committee will make an impact in holding the Government to account and helping to improve the lives of our constituents and I look forward to working with colleagues, on a cross-party basis, once the committee is established.”

In an interview with a local children’s charity, the Lambeth Early Action Partnership, Eshalomi described housing as the “thread that holds everything together”.

She added: “There’s no point in having fantastic services in our schools, children’s centres and youth clubs if we’re sending children back to accommodation that’s inadequate.”

Elections for select committee chairs of the new parliament concluded yesterday. 

Bill Esterson, Labour MP for Sefton Central, was elected as the chair of the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee. 

The new chair of the Business and Trade Committee is Liam Byrne, Labour MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North.