Jenrick has replaced James Brokenshire

Robert Jenrick

Robert Jenrick
Role: Secretary of state for housing, communities and local government
Constituency: Newark
Replaces: James Brokenshire

Biography: Born in 1982, Cambridge-educated Jenrick was elected to parliament in 2014 following a by-election. Before his appointment to the housing and communities brief he was exchequer secretary to the Treasury. A keen Brexiter, according to parliamentary records Jenrick voted against a right to remain for EU nationals already in living in the UK. Last month the government announced that EU nationals would still be able to come and work in the UK construction industry in the event of a no-deal Brexit but immigration minister Caroline Noakes stopped short of confirming such individuals and indeed those already living and working in the country would have a right to remain.

What this means for construction: It remains to be seen whether the new secretary of state shares his predecessor’s enthusiasm for the commission looking into how buildings – not least housing schemes – can be more beautiful or if the target of building 300,000 homes a year by then mid-2020s is to be retained.

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