Housing Secretary Reed resigns in Burnham reshuffle
Steve Reed, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, has resigned.
Reed was appointed in 2025, after Rayner stepped down following the stamp duty scandal.
He was a close ally of Starmer, and was the first cabinet member to be dismissed in Burnham’s reshuffle.
Reed backs state housebuilder programme
In his resignation letter, Reed reflected on his time heading the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). He said: “I strengthened planning reforms to speed up housebuilding across the country, with a radical acceleration package for London, where housebuilding had ground to a near-halt under the Conservatives.”
In December 2025, the government launched a consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to accelerate housing delivery.
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But in June, Savills Research forecasted that housing delivery was well below target. Some 167,500 homes per year would be delivered until 2029/30, rather than the government’s target of 300,000 new homes each year.
Reed also said: “I introduced historic reforms to strengthen protection for social tenants, leaseholders and renters.”
So far, Reed’s draft of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill aimed to end the leasehold system in England and Wales. The final bill has not yet been introduced to Parliament.
On his state housebuilder initiative, which he said was designed “to keep housebuilding going through periodic slowdowns,” Reed urged Burnham: “I hope you will take this forward.”
The Housing Secretary worked on plans for a state-owned developer to build commercial and affordable homes — but this came against a backdrop of bigger concerns already constraining housebuilding targets, including material shortages, structural issues, and financial pressures.
For some, however, there’s an equal focus on getting the broader housing market more functional.
Reacting to Burnham’s appointment, Nick Leeming, chairperson of Jackson-Stops, commented: “Building more homes is essential, but the health of the market also depends on helping existing homes circulate more freely, so that more people can make the move that is right for them.”
He further said: “The new government therefore has an opportunity to restore confidence in the market by combining a clear commitment to housebuilding with stable economic management and a serious review of the upfront costs that continue to hold back buyers and sellers. If that can be achieved, we should see momentum return, more transactions progress and more people able to move when the time is right for them.”
