New shadow Cabinet member Sir James Cleverly took an immediate swipe at Sir Sadiq Khan accusing him of being “asleep at the wheel” over tackling London’s housing crisis.
Less than 24 hours after being appointed to Kemi Badenoch’s top team, Sir James tore into the Government for a “catastrophic” failure on its housing promise to build 1.5 million new homes over five years.
The shadow housing secretary also accused the London Mayor of a “woeful” start in the capital on its housing target, as many Londoners struggle to afford to buy or rent a home.
“Take London for example, a city of around ten million people that has been estimated to need about 80,000 houses built a year,” former London Assembly member Sir James told Sky News.
“New starts in the first quarter of this year 1,210.
“That is about five and a half per cent of the total needed.
“That is woeful, because the Mayor is asleep at the wheel and the Labour government is letting him get away with it.”
However, Sir Sadiq hit back, with a source close to him saying: “Londoners won’t forget the Tories’ terrible housing legacy - soaring rents and mortgage payments, cuts to funding, and their disastrous decision to abandon housing targets.
“Despite the Tories’ legacy, Sadiq has delivered for Londoners. He’s completed more new homes than any time since the 1930s and started more new council homes than any time since the 1970s.”
The source added: “The Mayor will work alongside the new Labour Government to deliver the homes Londoners need.”
Former Foreign Secretary Sir James also told how he will not shadow Angela Rayner in her role as Deputy Prime Minister, after he was appointed as her counterpart for housing and communities.
He told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “I’m the shadow housing secretary. In opposition, structures are different and requirements are different.
“And in terms of Deputy Prime Minister, I think that’s a job title, rather than a job - an excuse to have an even more bloated Civil Service hierarchy at the centre of Westminster.
“My job is about highlighting her failure and the Labour Government’s failure to deliver on their promise to the British people, which is to build homes that British people can live in.”
He called Ms Rayner “formidable” and said he looks forward to “sparring with her”.
Former Home Secretary Sir James also said he understands “the desire to protest” when asked about demonstrations outside hotels believed to be housing asylum seekers.
Asked if he has sympathy for people protesting outside asylum hotels, the Tory MP told BBC radio: “I understand the desire to protest.
“There is never any excuse for rioting and we are seeing that agitators, both on the left and the right, are descending upon these communities to try and stir things up and there’s never an excuse for that, but I do understand why local people are frustrated.”
