Brandon Lewis MP

In September 2012 Lewis was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Communities and Local Government, working under Eric Pickles. In July 2014, Lewis was promoted to Minister of State for Housing and Planning, when the Prime Minister brought the portfolios of Housing & Planning together for the first time under his premiership.[17] He claimed that there had been a "dramatic swing" in public opinion - with almost half of people now in favour of new housing in their area.[18] This related to the controversial National Planning Policy Framework, which made it substantially easier for developers to build on greenfield land. In 2015 Lewis endorsed the regeneration of the historic townscape of Bacup in Rossendale, East Lancashire which aims to reposition the town as a commuter town for Greater Manchester as well as a cultural destination.[19] In July 2016, Lewis was promoted to be the Minister of State for the Home Office with a portfolio including Police & Fire services, as well as EuroPol & InterPol:[20] On 29 September 2016, he was appointed to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and may therefore use the title The Right Honourable.[21]