Kelly Tolhurst has resigned as the minister for rough sleeping and housing for personal reasons.
In a letter to the prime minister, she said she was stepping down from the government role to spend “precious time” with her family after receiving “devastating” news.
Tolhurst, the Conservative MP for Rochester and Strood, had previously served as small business minister in the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy, and as a minister in the Department for Transport.
She wrote to Boris Johnson: “Following on from some devastating news for my family, after much consideration and deep reflection, it is with great sadness that I am writing to notify you of my intention to step down from my role as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government, so that I am able to care for, and spend some precious time with my family in the coming months.
“It has been an immense privilege to serve in your Government under three different departments.”
Johnson said in reply that he was “very sorry” to receive Tolhurst’s resignation.
He later tweeted: “Kelly, very sad that you’re standing down from government. You’ve been a brilliant minister at three departments but family must come first.
“My thoughts are with you and your loved ones at this difficult time.”
Tolhurst has now been replaced in her role by assistant whip Eddie Hughes.
Comments (9)
The only Housing Minster I can recall is Robert Jenerick, all for the wrong reasons, for producing policies that do not work
With due sympathy for her personal life problems, I do have to ask ‘Kelly who?’. As with so many of her predecessors in the post, she has made little or no demonstrable impact.
I have sympathy for whatever situation she is having to cope with but there is a certain irony that while an MP can step back from their ministerial duties and have time and space to deal with their crisis, those who are homeless can’t step back from what they’re living through with the safety net of an £80k salary, a £10,000 work from home bonus and an expense account
I’m disappointed at the way the way the housing ministry is a minor part of a larger department and that it suffers from a lack of planning and strategic outcomes.
Housing ought to be an apolitical department that’s immune from party politics which can set out and see through a considered and cohesive plan the doesn’t change every time there’s an election, referendum or family crisis
For ‘homeless’ (as understood by the general public) read; unfortunate souls lost to their demons, sadly living often ruinous lives that have an awful impact on themselves, those close to them and if they are lucky to be housed, those living next to them. Issues their new neighbours are likely to encounter are not limited to: shady visitors night and day, noisy collectives inside and out, blocked drains, smashed windows, altercations, potential fire hazards and general daily worry about what ‘might’ happen.
I’m guessing you’re a fan of Priti Patel, Ian Duncan Smith and Esther McVey and are all too quick to judge others less fortunate than yourself.
Not a judgement in the negative sense Robert. IMHO a sad but realistic assessment based on a fair bit of experience at the coal face trying to assist those who’s lives have spiraled out of control to this extent. I know of people that have found themselves in this situation and they have my utmost sympathy. If we are going to have any chance of dealing with complex issues like this there is no point dressing it up as simple ‘homelessness’.
Assuming everyone who is homeless has no agency doesn’t help anyone. Over the years I have known many men who won’t live in hostels or accept help becuase they can’t keep drinking in a hostel. The only place to have the freedom to do what they want is on the street. I was unintentionally homeless du eto domestic violence in the 90s and very grateful for the support my children and I got at the time I needed it. Thankfully I didn’t have any addictions or debt or the journey forward wouldn’t have ended up here.
This is a really interesting read https://quillette.com/2021/01/15/britain-needs-a-new-approach-to-homelessness/
There are 60 families in South Wales facing homelessness because the coal board sold their portfolio to a firm, who have sold it on to a firm, who have served notice on their AST tenants so the properties can be demolished and replaced with homes that will be sold.
Moving out of their current home won’t make those ex-tenants the sort of undesirable stereotype you’ve described.
It is because housing is a basic need that there ought to be a considered, consistent approach that caters for situation where 60 homes in one town are suddenly no longer available to rent – In such a case the planning permission should cater for the housing need of an area ahead of developer profit
Separate to her personal issues, which I have every sympathy for, this means there have been 19 or 20 Housing Ministers since 1997.
They rarely last longer than 12 months. You couldn’t make it up.