On average it takes between six and 12 months to build one house.
Based on current evidence, it takes several years to push housing reform through Parliament.
So it’s unfortunate that the average tenure of a housing minister is 253 days, or just over eight months.
This is relevant once again after Rachel Maclean (279 days) was replaced by Lee Rowley, a repeat for the MP who also took up the post for 48 days in September 2022.
Britain is in the midst of an ever-worsening housing crisis, with few new homes being built, spiralling rent and leaseholders still suffering service charge and ground rent hikes.
And these are the ordinary problems facing the averagely well off.
That list doesn’t touch on the proliferation of damp and mould and homelessness we’ve seen in recent years.
No matter your personal circumstances I suspect you know someone who is affected by the housing crisis in some way.
Yet housing is so far down the list of government priorities that we have cycled through 14 ministers since 2010 (provided we only count Rowley once).
The industry is crying out for long-term planning and consistency — no one can oversee a viable house-building programme in under a year.
With the next general election likely to herald a change of government the Conservatives may not be able to prove they can take long-term action but they could get closer to pushing positive change through if they manage to avoid another round of musical chairs.
