Perhaps the only thing surprising about Rob Callister finally being confirmed as the new Housing and Communities Ministers was the time it took for the announcement to be made.
Two weeks after Chris Thomas announced the other ministers, Callister’s appointment was confirmed on October 30. Even then, we had the world’s least subtle hint the day before when a new chair of the Public Services Commission was announced. That was a role occupied by Callister previously.
We’ll talk about the slightly weird path taken to get to the announcement later on, but the biggest question is can Rob Callister fix the housing problem?
A Tough Task Ahead
Everyone knows housing in the Isle of Man is a big problem. Its availability, and more significantly, its affordability.
That’s why Chris Thomas told everyone weeks ago wanted to create ministerial position to deal with it. That’s why it was on everyone’s mind in the run-up to the General Election.
While there are derelict brownfield sites that government has spent years being unable to find a use for, there are young people saying they cannot afford to live here. Students who see house prices as a real barrier to returning home after university.
Are affordable homes for first-time buyers actually out there, or just some ethereal concept that politicians like to bring up every now and then?
Why is the gap between average house price and average earnings so great?
What Callister Says
Callister initially considered standing for Chief Minister himself, before dropping out of the race. Before he withdrew, however, he produced a manifesto. This is what he said:
“Housing must be one of the next government’s defining priorities. The Isle of Man cannot retain young people, attract key workers, support families or grow its economy unless people can find homes they can afford in communities with
the infrastructure and services to support them.
“The next administration should establish a focused Housing Delivery Programme, bringing together government, local authorities, planning, infrastructure providers and the construction sector. This should identify the homes the island
needs by type, location and affordability, make better use of public land and brownfield sites, and give the public clear reporting on progress.”
He added: “Affordability must remain central, with stronger support for first-time buyers, improved rental supply and quality, properly maintained public sector housing and a planning system that is robust, fair and timely.
“Housing decisions should be aligned with population policy, healthcare, schools, transport, utilities, drainage, energy and employment needs.
“By 2031, Government should be judged on whether more genuinely affordable homes have been delivered, young people and key workers have a clearer route into secure housing, public and brownfield land has been used effectively, and housing growth has been planned alongside the infrastructure communities rely on.”
The Gap is Getting Bigger
The median house price now stands at £358,000, with median pre-tax wages sat at £39,780. Median house price is therefore nine times pre-tax average earnings.
In 2016, the median house price was £245,500, with median wages pitched at £27,924, putting median house prices at 8.7 times the amount.
And we keep hearing about the need for first-time buyer homes. How many are being built?
As for overall house prices, just look at the increase in the proportion of those homes above £250,000 over the past 10 years, taking from the Housing Market Review 2025.
Is it any wonder we keep hearing that people will give up and move away?
Appointment Handling Seemed Weird
For sceptical political observers, there is a sense that the handling of the appointment – not the choice – was weird.
When the other ministerial positions were announced, Thomas said there may be more.
Then radio silence for the best part of two weeks, while everyone joined the dots and thought: There will be a housing minister and it will be Rob Callister.
Why the wait? There may be technical and administrative reasons behind it. But there was always room for another ministerial position, under the rules.
Why not just say at the time of the other announcements that Callister was going to be Housing and Communities Minister? And details of how that would work would be addressed and everything rubber stamped.
Formality, or procrastination, created a vacuum and most of us worked it out for ourselves.
If this new ministerial position signals the genuine intent of the Chris Thomas administration, where was the fanfare?
On Friday, we were told by the Chief Minister via a press statement: “The new minister will, amongst other things, lead development of a prioritised action plan for meeting housing need, including the existing approved Tynwald commitment to build, provide or facilitate up to 1,000 affordable homes over ten years from April 2025.
“Evidence of housing need should inform funding, site availability and construction capacity.”
Then, in reference to his new minister, he added, bizarrely: “In the coming days, we will meet to agree clear objectives and priorities for the work ahead.”
Er, shouldn’t that have been done already?
It’s a little odd.
Details of any new department have yet to be clarified, too.
No doubt it will all become clear in the coming days.
That’s the problem with making announcements just before the weekend, they can also leave a bit of a vacuum, allowing people such as me to speculate and be accused of making mischief.
So let us return to the real issue at hand.
Can He Fix It?
We cannot give a definitive “yes, he can”, answer.
To stand a realistic chance, he probably needs the rest of Tynwald to get behind him and sing the correct lines from Bob the Builder: “Can we fix it? Yes, we can!”
What I would say is that Rob Callister is hard-working and he is passionate.
He may not be everyone’s cup of tea. No Tynwald member is everyone’s perfect beverage.
But I would point to the fact that he chaired the select committee that demanded action to support those with dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia. He, along with others, stood up – in most cases successfully – to the then government’s attempts to water down its recommendations.
(We await, with interest, by the way, the scheduled Education Department responses next month.)
Callister’s performance on that issue that was a good sign. He listened to what the people wanted and he fought for them.
He may need to stand up to ministers again, this time from within.
The new minister has already signalled the need to work with and across several sectors. But he will need to show the leadership required to get everyone working together.
Many felt he was given a raw deal over his brief stint as Health Minister.
Many also expressed surprise when Callister wasn’t among the initial raft of ministerial announcements.
He is going to need support from his Chief Minister and ministerial colleagues and support from Tynwald members.
The former is already there. The latter may need to be earned.
This is his moment. Time to step up.
Some of the many housing stories covered by Manx.News are linked below.
It was also a hot topic in the latest Welcome to Friday podcast. To watch that click this link:
Welcome to Friday
