Housing minister Gavin Barwell ousted from seat

Barwell won the seat by just 165 votes two years ago but was beaten by more than 5,000 this time around.

Housing minister Gavin Barwell ousted from seat

Housing minister Gavin Barwell lost his Croydon Central seat to Labour’s Sarah Jones in the General Election.

Barwell won the seat by just 165 votes two years ago but was beaten by more than 5,000 this time around.

The new government will now have to appoint another housing minister, as the junior role continues to change hands far too often.

Nick Leeming, chairman of Jackson-Stops & Staff, said: “With Gavin Barwell gone, it will be interesting to see what happens to the long awaited Housing White Paper that disappeared from the scene since its publication in February.”

Russell Quirk, founder and chief executive of eMoov, said: “I suspect that the housing brief will take a back seat now, despite politicians’ promises in recent weeks, given the combined weight of negotiating Brexit, stabilising our economy, button-holing political support across the aisle on every vote and, inevitably, campaigning again for the next poll."

Barwell was only made housing minister in July 17 2016.