Michael Gove arrived at the new £25million grace-and-favour London pad yesterday Boris Johnson has just given him.
But eyebrows were raised because palatial Carlton Gardens usually goes to the Foreign Secretary, a higher ranking minister than Mr Gove.
And Tory MPs in the Midlands and the North still waiting for the funding the PM has promised them were fuming.
One senior Tory said: “It seems that the only levelling up going on is in the Cabinet.”
The Housing Secretary will have the run of a three-bed apartment, two dining rooms and a ballroom.
Which means Mr Gove will have somewhere to practice the dance steps he showed off in an Aberdeen nightclub this Summer.
Sources said the decision to place Mr Gove in the lap of luxury a stone’s throw from Buckingham Palace was due to security concerns.
The road is more easily policed because it is a cul-de-sac.
Another house on the street was used by French president Charles de Gaulle to run his government-in-exile during the war.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is said to be happy to give up her official residence to her colleague.
The 1830 house was designed by architect John Nash and is leased by the Foreign Office from the Crown Estates which look after the Queen’s properties.
Traditionally Foreign Secretaries host diplomatic receptions there but Mr Gove is free to use it to invite his mates around. The Queen has her Privy Council Office next door.
Mr Gove has been single since July when he announced he was separating from his wife of 20 years, the journalist Sarah Vine.
A Government spokesperson said: “It is longstanding practice for senior ministers to make use of official residences.”
