Caroline Flint MP appointed Housing Minister
Caroline Flint MP has been appointed as Housing Minister at the Department for Communities and Local Government. She succeeds Yvette Cooper MP, who was moved to take up the post of Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
Peter Hain’s resignation from the Cabinet prompted the reshuffle. Flint’s appointment comes at a time when two important pieces of legislation are moving through Parliament: the Planning Bill and Housing and Regeneration Bill.
The role allows her to attend Cabinet, which is a significant promotion from her previous role as Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform. It’s her first appointment in an economic-related brief. As yet she has not made her views on housing clear. However, she’s likely to take a pro-business line, which tallies with her background in Parliament as a Blairite loyalist.