Barking MP Nesil Caliskan has left her junior ministerial role at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government after serving for just over two months.
Caliskan, of Turkish Cypriot descent and a former leader of Enfield Council, was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State on 12 May 2026 under the then prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer. Her responsibilities included devolution, local growth and communities.
Her promotion came during a period of intense turmoil within the Labour government. Caliskan replaced Miatta Fahnbulleh, who resigned from the housing ministry in protest at Starmer’s leadership following Labour’s poor performance in May’s local elections.
Fahnbulleh was one of four ministers to leave the government on the same day as pressure mounted on Starmer to stand down. Caliskan, who had served as a senior government whip since September 2025, was among several Labour MPs promoted to fill the resulting vacancies.
Her time in the housing department ended on 22 July, two days after Andy Burnham succeeded Starmer as prime minister and began forming a new ministerial team. The government’s official appointments announcement listed Caliskan among more than 30 ministers who had left government during Burnham’s wide-ranging reshuffle. It did not give any reason for her departure.
The change also came as Burnham reorganised parts of Whitehall, transferring some responsibilities relating to local growth and devolution strategy from the housing ministry to his newly created Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Confirming her departure in a statement online, Caliskan said it had been an “honour” to serve in a Labour government and highlighted her work on improving high streets, devolving power, strengthening communities and delivering the government’s “Pride in Place” programme.
She wished the new Housing Secretary, Angela Rayner, and her ministerial team “every success”, adding that she looked forward to supporting them and the new prime minister as they worked to “bring opportunity and hope to every postcode”.
Caliskan remains Labour MP for the East London constituency of Barking, the seat she has represented since the July 2024 general election.
