Greenwich and Woolwich MP with a track record of campaigning on low pay, renter rights and placemaking takes key DLUHC brief
Matthew Pennycook has been appointed as housing minister, as widely expected.
Pennycook, who was-re-elected as MP for Greenwich and Woolwich with a majority of over 18,000, had served as shadow housing minister since 2021.
He will work underneath Angela Rayner, who was confirmed as housing secretary on Friday evening.
Pennycook, aged 41, is seen by many as a rising star within the Labour party.
He has in the past shown a keen interest in tackling poverty and low pay. He volunteered with the Child Poverty Action Group and worked for the Resolution Foundation thinktank on issues including welfare reform, later serving on the Living Wage Foundation鈥檚 board.
Pennycook (pictured) has spoken of the importance of 鈥減lacemaking鈥�, ensuring housing developments have infrastructure such as schools, shops and other facilities to support them.
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>>See also:
He accused the previous Conservative government of thinking that 鈥渓iberalising the planning system is the answer to everything鈥�.
Speaking to The House magazine last year, Pennycook said: 鈥淎nd, actually, what it has meant across the country鈥� is unconstrained planning developments, which are heavily car-dependent, and don鈥檛 have sufficient amenities for those that live there.
鈥淚t鈥檚 got to be about people and placemaking, rather than what developers need out of the system.鈥�
Jim McMahon has also been appointed at a minister at the Department for Levelling Up and Communities and is expected to take on the local government brief.
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