Why property software needn’t be as changeable as the Housing Minister

20 July 2018 7622 Views

With the shelf life of recent housing ministers being on a par with football managers, it's perhaps little surprise that we're now on to our 17th incumbent in the last 21 years.

The fallout from an extraordinary sequence of events – which saw an agreed position on Brexit hammered out at Chequers quickly fall apart as high-profile Cabinet ministers and lesser-known junior ministers resigned – was the appointment of Kit Malthouse as the Conservative Party's 8th new Housing Minister since taking office in 2010.

Following the departure of David Davis (closely followed by the resignation of Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson), Theresa May was in need of a new Brexit Secretary. Dominic Raab, a prominent campaigner for Leave during the referendum and Housing Minister since Theresa May's New Year reshuffle in January 2018, was given a swift promotion to head up Britain's negotiations with the European Union.

He had been Housing Minister for exactly seven months, the shortest tenure since 1997. Now Kit Malthouse, a chartered accountant by profession and with little obvious experience of housing, has taken on the role. This has prompted understandable dismay from the industry at yet another change despite the government's frequent insistence that housing – and not Brexit – is its number one priority.

Who is Kit Malthouse?

Little-known before his promotion, Malthouse has only been an MP for three years, having won the seat for North West Hampshire at the 2015 election (a seat he held at last year's snap general election).

Previously, he was perhaps best known for the key positions he took up during Boris Johnson's time as London Mayor. This included Deputy Mayor of London, Policing (2008-2012) and being the first Deputy Mayor for Business and Enterprise from 2012 to 2015.

His parliamentary CV is, as you'd expect, pretty thin given he's only been sitting in Westminster for three years. He has served on various select committees since being elected – including the Treasury Committee and the Armed Forces Bill Committee – and was Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Department for Work and Pensions from the start of 2018 until his recent appointment as Housing Minister.

Why frequent change is not good for business

Even though the position of Housing Minister has changed as frequently as the British weather in recent decades, there is no reason why agencies should reflect this with frequent changes to their property software or website.

Once you have the perfect system in place, and a modern, user-friendly website at your disposal, you won't need to look elsewhere like the Prime Minister.

While chaos currently reigns in the Cabinet, what your business needs is certainty, stability and a long-term vision – something that the role of Housing Minister has definitely not been providing of late.

To compete in a fast-moving, competitive marketplace, you need software that enables you to manage all aspects of your business, from anywhere, at the click of a button.

Here at Gnomen we can provide exactly that, plus we know how to create the best estate agent websites in town.

To find out more about what Gnomen can do for you, please contact us today. Alternatively, you can book a free demo here. 

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