Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Get 8 issues for only £9.99 - delivered to your door
SUBSCRIBE
Housing

George Clarke doesn’t hold back on the ministerial merry-go-round

Not one of the Housing Ministers in charge over the last decade have managed to build the homes Britain desperately needs to end the housing crisis. Social housing activist George Clarke has had enough

George Clarke's Council House Scandal

There have been nine Housing Ministers in nine years.

The ministerial merry-go-round marks Grant Shapps, who lasted 27.5 months between 2010 and 2012, out as a relative veteran while current Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab barely lasted six months in the role in 2018.

I have heard the figure 300,000 houses a year every year since forever

It’s hardly enough time to make any progress on building the 300,000-plus homes that Britain needs to plug the gap left by successive governments, particularly the much-needed affordable social rent homes.

You can see how each Housing Minister has fared in their time in the hot seat in this week’s Big Issue magazine, available now from vendors and The Big Issue Shop.

But we also asked George Clarke, a proud social housing champion and host of Channel 4’s hard-hitting Council House Scandal, what he thought of the constant chopping and changing.

It’s fair to say that he didn’t hold back:

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

“I have lost count, there have been so many housing ministers over the last 20 years. It is the ministerial position that has changed more than any other.

“That is a joke, isn’t it? It is shameful.

“I have heard announcement after announcement after announcement and it is all a load of bollocks. And I don’t use that word lightly. It is an absolute load of shit. I have heard the figure 300,000 houses a year every year since forever. Tony Blair announced with John Prescott and Gordon Brown that they would build three million houses in the next 10 years.

“Well, they didn’t.

“And it has got worse. I interviewed [ex-Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary] James Brokenshire for my programme. What a waste of time that guy was. Over-media trained, weak politics.

“It’s pathetic.”

Clarke’s own petition to persuade the government to build 100,000 council houses every year for the next three decades continues to grow and has soared past 216,000 signatures at the latest count. You can add your name to the campaign here.

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

Never miss an issue

Take advantage of our special subscription offer. Subscribe from just £9.99 and never miss an issue.

Recommended for you

View all
This is the devastating impact growing up in temporary accommodation has on children’s GCSE results
school children at desks
Education

This is the devastating impact growing up in temporary accommodation has on children’s GCSE results

Electric van to help charity deliver 50,000 meals to homeless people
Four people stand around an electric van
Homelessness

Electric van to help charity deliver 50,000 meals to homeless people

Doubt cast on Rachel Reeves’ claim Labour will be in ‘touching distance’ of building 1.5 million homes
Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner meet construction workers at the Bournes Bank site in Stoke-on-Trent.
Housing

Doubt cast on Rachel Reeves’ claim Labour will be in ‘touching distance’ of building 1.5 million homes

'They had nowhere to go': The story of rough sleepers left outside in London's Covid-19 lockdowns
A homeless man sleeping rough at Trafalgar Square
Homelessness

'They had nowhere to go': The story of rough sleepers left outside in London's Covid-19 lockdowns

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know

Support our vendors with a subscription

For each subscription to the magazine, we’ll provide a vendor with a reusable water bottle, making it easier for them to access cold water on hot days.