Labour MP Luke Pollard considers housing one of his personal campaign priorities. The Plymouth MP proudly says on his website: “We need to build more homes. I want to unlock spare public sector land to build more houses, especially affordable homes, part-buy/part-let and social housing.” During the 2015 election he warned:

“We need a better deal for people on housing: more affordable and predictable rents, more affordable homes to buy and to let and better quality housing for all.” 

All very worthy. But two months later Pollard took a job with a property firm which lobbies on behalf of luxury real estate developers who have been criticised by Sadiq Khan and dubbed “the capital’s most controversial major redevelopment scheme”. His role as a director for Field Consulting UK saw him act as the lead lobbyist for the not-so-affordable £1.1 billion Earls Court Capco development, £400 million Leadenhall Brookfield development and multi-million pound ‘The Trellis’ skyscraper in the City. The Earls Court development was explicitly criticised by Sadiq, who said he had “serious reservations” about the scheme. Go on then Luke, tell us more about that “better deal on housing”…