Badenoch and Cleverly attack Labour housing record after Tory reshuffle
Opposition leader Mrs Badenoch accused Sir Keir Starmer's Government of having done 'the exact opposite' of showing it was serious about housebuilding.
Labour, which has pledged to deliver 1.5 million homes by the next parliament, said the country was still 'living with the consequences' of the Tories' 'disastrous decision to abolish mandatory housing targets'.
Mrs Badenoch said the Prime Minister is 'seemingly more concerned about homes for illegal migrants than getting Britain building' following remarks made by Sir Keir to Parliament's Liaison Committee.
Sir Keir has suggested there is 'lots of housing available' to accommodate both rising numbers of homeless people and asylum seekers when asked about the need to house both groups.
'Under my leadership, Conservatives will stand up for property rights. Private owners should not face the threat of their property being taken over by the council to house illegal immigrants,' she said.
Sir James said: 'This Labour government is totally failing the country, and the capital, on housing – and under Kemi's leadership, I am ready to lead the fight against this failure.'
Ahead of a joint visit with Mrs Badenoch on Wednesday, he criticised actions such as cancelling the London Plan review of housing and 'using precious stock to house asylum seekers'.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has withdrawn the review, which had been ordered by the previous government, to pave the way for what she called a 'partnership approach' to development between Government and City Hall.
The joint visit is the first since Mrs Badenoch reshuffled her front bench on Wednesday as part of efforts to demonstrate what she described as the Tories' 'mission of renewal'.
Former foreign secretary Sir James will shadow Ms Rayner in the housing, communities and local government brief, while ex-Conservative Party chairman Richard Holden becomes shadow transport secretary.
Kevin Hollinrake has been appointed party chairman, replacing Nigel Huddleston, who will become shadow culture secretary.Stuart Andrew will become shadow health secretary, replacing Edward Argar, who resigned citing health reasons.
Julia Lopez has been appointed shadow science secretary, taking over from Alan Mak, who has left the shadow cabinet.
Gareth Bacon has been replaced by Mr Holden in his transport brief and demoted from the shadow cabinet, but remains minister for London.
Sir James served in the Foreign Office and as home secretary when the Conservatives were in power before spending months on the back benches after coming third in the Tory leadership contest last year.
The MP for Braintree in Essex has since used his influential position as a former minister to warn against pursuing a populist agenda akin to Nigel Farage's Reform UK.
In the same speech, he also said he wanted to return the Tories to government 'at every level,' amid speculation he could harbour ambitions of running for the London mayoralty held by Sir Sadiq Khan in 2028.
He has also urged the Conservatives to reject climate change 'luddites' on the right who believe 'the way things are now is just fine,' in remarks that were widely seen as at odds with the net-zero stance of the Tory leader.
In a press release ahead of the joint visit, the Tories described Sir James as a 'political heavyweight' who will take the fight to Labour 'over their failure to provide the people of Britain with the houses they need – particularly in London, ahead of the mayoral elections in 2028.'
The release contained no new Conservative housing policy announcements, after Mrs Badenoch said she did not want to rush into new proposals following the party's election defeat last year.
A Labour spokesperson said: 'No amount of deckchair shuffling can hide that the architects of 14 years of Tory failure still sit around Kemi Badenoch's top table.
'We're still living with the consequences of the Tories' disastrous decision to torpedo supply by abolishing mandatory housing targets.
'While Labour is working in partnership with regions to turn the tide on the acute and entrenched housing crisis, the Conservatives haven't changed and they haven't once apologised for the mess they left behind.'
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