Kit Malthouse claims that the Conservatives need a “fresh face”, although this approach has done little for the housebuilding industry which has seen eight fresh faces in eight years.
Housing Minister Kit Malthouse has become the 10th MP to throw his hat into the ring, after having served as Housing Minister for just under a year.
Malthouse voted leave, but famously hammered out a plan dubbed the ‘Malthouse compromise’ in January which won the backing of both Leave and Remain MPs. Despite the plan being pooh poohed by Brussels, Malthouse is determined to unite the warring factions of his party.
It is perhaps telling that he made his pitch to the Sun newspaper, saying, “While we agonise over Brexit, we must recognise that people’s lives are changing. If the Conservative Party is the only thing that stands still, we will struggle for relevance.
“It’s time for a new generation to lead the charge into our future with boldness and vision.”
Malthouse set himself apart from the current Eton mess in parliament, declaring that himself to be a northern boy who built a business in the Midlands and now represents a stunning part of Hampshire.
“My granddad was a Yorkshire wagon driver, my grandma a teacher, and my mum and dad were the first in their families to go to university.
“My family’s story is one of education, hard work and opportunity, and that’s what I want for everyone.”
He didn’t mention at which point his family scrambled onto the property ladder, and whether this is something he feels should be within everyone’s grasp. In fact, housing only got a fleeting mention.
He isn’t the only housing ministry alumni standing. Dominic Raab and Sajid Javid have also tossed their hats into the ring with Brexit-heavy speeches which show little sign that they learned anything from their time focussing on housing policy.
Malthouse was previously Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Family Support, Housing and Child Maintenance at the Department of Work and Pensions from 9 January 2018 to 9 July 2018. He was elected as Conservative MP for North West Hampshire in May 2015.
He was a councillor on Westminster Council from 1998 to 2006. Malthouse was a member of the London Assembly from 2008 to 2016. He served as Deputy Mayor for Policing 2008 to 2012 and Deputy Mayor for Business and Enterprise from 2012 to 2015.
Malthouse is a chartered accountant, founding a midlands-based finance company, which he now chairs. He is married with three children.
