Baroness Taylor of Stevenage has been appointed as a housing minister in the new Labour government.

In the latest raft of ministerial appointments, published on Tuesday evening, it was confirmed that Baroness Taylor will serve as a parliamentary under-secretary of state in the ministry of housing, communities and local government. She will also be a government whip in the House of Lords.

Prior to last week's general election, Baroness Taylor was Labour's spokesperson on housing issues in the House of Lords, and an opposition whip.

She will now speak for the government in the House of Lords on issues related to her brief.

In a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, Baroness Taylor said that it was a "huge honour" to have been appointed, and added: "I look forward to working in [housing secretary] Angela Rayner’s team to deliver housing, local growth and devolution that will bring the change we all want to see."

Kevin Bonavia, elected last week as Labour MP for Stevenage, said he was "absolutely delighted" for Baroness Taylor. "I know she will bring both deep experience and strong determination to deliver the change we need," he added.

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Rachel Reeves, newly-installed as chancellor, has already announced that the government will restore mandatory housebuilding targets and build 1.5 million homes over the next five years.

She said that Ms Rayner will write to councils asking them to review their Green Belt boundaries.

Devolution is expected to be another important part of Labour's programme in government. Yesterday (July 9), prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and deputy prime minister Ms Rayner met with regional mayors to discuss "a major programme of devolution".

Labour's manifesto promised to "transfer power out of Westminster, and into our communities, with landmark devolution legislation to take back control".

It said that local areas would "gain new powers over transport, adult education and skills, housing and planning, and employment support".