Shaun Davies is one of two Labour MPs standing for election to be the chair of the Housing Select Committee.
Mr Davies, who was only elected at the General Election in July is up against Florence Eshalomi, the Labour MP for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green, who has been an MP since the General Election in 2019.
The election by MPs takes place between 10am and 5pm today, with the new chair being elected from the Labour party under the allocation of committee chairs to political parties which was agreed by the House of Commons on July 30.
Mr Davies, who remains an unpaid councillor at Telford & Wrekin, has provided a personal statement.
He says he has spent the majority of his career not just working in local government, but championing it at a national level, as chair of the Local Government Association and leader of Labour in Local Government.
He said: “I’m also a non-executive director of a registered social housing provider, and I have extensive experience with social and council housing. I’ve seen first-hand the toll the past decade has taken on local authorities, on communities and on the housing sector.
“That’s why I’m seeking election as chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee. This Parliamentary term needs to see urgent reform to the UK’s housing policy, and to the way local authorities are run and funded. These five years will prove pivotal, and as your chair I will use my platform to help drive that reform.
“Like Select Committees, local government is all about transcending party lines, and working constructively in the public interest. The problems facing housing and local government are simply too great to be used as political footballs, so as chair I will foster an inclusive approach centred on solutions, as I did at Telford & Wrekin Council and at the LGA.”
Ms Eshalomi said: “I am standing for chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee as a previous member of the Committee during the last Parliament and as a prior shadow minister covering this department.
“I have seen the difference that effective select committees make to the strength of a department’s decision making. It means cross-party voices from across the country have their voices heard at the heart of Government, and that policies have the proper public scrutiny that they need. This is something that I know Clive Betts did exceptionally, and it’s something I will look to continue if I am elected chair.
“Growing up with my single mother and two younger sisters, I’ll never forget the feeling when we were given the keys to our permanent council home after spending time in temporary accommodation.
“It gave us a sense of security, stability and belonging in a community.”
The results are published under the direction of the Speaker as soon as is practicable after the ballot has closed.
The successful candidate formally takes up their position as committee chair when the remaining members of the committee have been appointed by the House.
