The removal is part of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s cabinet reshuffle following the sacking of Home Secretary Suella Braverman after her comments about police giving pro-Palestine protesters more favourable treatment in a piece for The Times.
Lee Rowley, MP for North East Derbyshire, has been appointed as housing minister. It marks a return to the Department for Levelling Up as he was parliamentary under secretary of state for local government and building safety from 2022 to 2023.
Before that he was parliamentary under secretary of state for Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from 2021 to 2022 and prior to that was a government whip for the Lord Commissioner of the HM Treasury from 2021 to 2022.
Maclean was appointed to the role in February this year and was the sixth housing minister in 12 months and the 15th person to hold this job since 2010. This would make her successor the 16th housing minister in 13 years.
In a tweet, Maclean said she was “disappointed” and had been looking forward to introducing the Renters Reform Bill to the parliamentary committee tomorrow and later the Leasehold and Freehold Bill.
“It has been a privilege to hold the position and I wish my successor well,” she added.
Maclean continued: “I want to thank everyone in @luhc who it has been a huge pleasure to work with as well as all those who have given their time, commitment and energy to work with me and inform policy on this vital agenda. I will never lose my passion for housing and planning.”
Maclean was elected an MP in 2017 and started her parliamentary career as parliamentary under secretary of state for the Department of Transport from 2020 to 2021.
After that she was parliamentary under secretary at the Home Office between 2021 and 2022 and then was minister of state at Ministry of Justice from 7 September to 28 October 2022.
