Florence Eshalomi, the Labour Co-op MP for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green, has stepped from Parliament’s committee corridors into government. On 21 July 2026, she was appointed a Minister of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), joining Angela Rayner’s ministerial team following Rayner’s return as Secretary of State.
Who is Florence Eshalomi?
Born Florence Dauta Nosegbe in Birmingham in 1980, Eshalomi’s connection to housing policy isn’t purely academic. As a child, her family spent time in temporary accommodation — including a damp, converted Victorian house in Brixton and a bed and breakfast in King’s Cross — before finally securing a council home in Brixton. That experience has repeatedly shaped how she talks about the housing crisis: a secure home, she has said, is tied to everything from children’s schooling to their parents’ employment and health.
Her political career built steadily from the ground up:
✔️ Lambeth Council — Councillor for Brixton Hill, 2006–2018
✔️ London Assembly — Member for Lambeth and Southwark, 2016–2021
✔️ House of Commons — MP for Vauxhall (later Vauxhall and Camberwell Green) since December 2019
✔️ Select committee chair — Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee since September 2024
In that select committee role, Eshalomi built a reputation as a persistent voice for tenants, pushing for tougher enforcement against landlords who breach the Renters’ Rights Act, faster rollout of Awaab’s Law into the private rented sector, and a stronger Private Rented Sector Database to help renters check on landlords and homes.
Eshalomi joins MHCLG as a Minister of State, as part of MHCLG’s ministerial team following Angela Rayner’s return as Secretary of State
Eshalomi’s portfolio within the department is yet to be formally announced at the time of appointment, though given her committee record, tenant protections and private rented sector reform are widely expected to sit close to her brief.
Taking the post required her to give up the committee chair — a seat she’d used effectively to hold ministers to account. She marked the appointment on social media, saying she was looking forward to building on the foundations already laid to deliver the changes communities need.
Why it matters
Eshalomi moving from scrutineer to minister is a notable shift. Select committee chairs spend their time pushing government to go further and faster; now she’ll be inside the department fielding exactly that kind of pressure — including, potentially, from her own former committee. Her track record suggests she’ll bring the same urgency on renters’ rights and housing standards to the job, but she’ll also now own the delivery problems that come with it, including the Prime Minister’s priority on homelessness.
