Housing minister Raab now takes over David Davis exit...

It’s been announced this morning that Dominic Raab - who became housing minister just a few months ago - is to become the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union.

He is replacing David Davis, who resigned last night.

This now means there will be yet another housing minister - the 17th in 21 years.

Raab was a prominent anti-EU campaigner during the 2016 Referendum campaign and in his short spell as housing minister made many more social media contributions on the subject of the EU than he did about housing.

Since becoming housing minister in January he has made few key speeches while his recently-appointed boss - James Brokenshire, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government - made the running on policy announcements such as the proposals for three year standard tenancies in the private rental sector.

Raab's tenure as housing minister is the shortest of the 16 who have held the post since 1997. There is no word yet on who will replace Raab at the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

There’s been swift reaction from the Guild of Property Professionals.

Iain McKenzie, chief executive, says: "We are set to get our eighth housing minister in eight years. This is completely unacceptable. The government accepts that we are in a housing crisis with a shortage of good-quality homes, and yet they are showing time and time again that housing is not a priority.

“The market needs a housing minister with industry experience, who is dedicated to understanding and fixing the problems the market is facing. The government needs to accept this and give long-term stability to the housing department, or housing should be removed from government control.”

Meanwhile Russell Quirk, chief executive of Emoov, says: “Housing has become the poor relation in British politics, a ministerial post that should have a well-oiled revolving door attached to the position. We are in the midst of a housing crisis - a deficit of 100,000 new homes each year and acute unaffordability, whereby first-time buyers will soon celebrate their 40th birthday before being able to buy a home.

“We need consistency in the Government where the housing brief is concerned and it must be a proper cabinet position, not a junior role relegated to the corridors of Whitehall. How are we as an industry or indeed the civil service to take the Government seriously when they say that housing is a priority when, in fact, they play ‘Fantasy Housing Minister League’ like this with scant regard for the consequences" he concludes.