The coalition government set up the CLC to help drive its policy agenda. It comprises industry representatives and government officials, with a co-chair from each side.

After the Conservatives won a parliament majority in 2015 and shed their coalition partners, the CLC was reduced to 12 members.

Most industry-side members—all hand-picked by the government—were either bosses of foreign-owned tier-one construction contractors, foreigners themselves, or both.

After an outcry from industry lobbyists, the Construction Industry Council, the Association for Consultancy & Engineering and the Construction Products Association (CPA) each managed to get their representatives a seat on the council. Soon, more trade associations found their way around the table.

The CLC seat with the fastest churn has been the government-side co-chair, nominally the minister who holds the construction brief within the Department for Business & Trade (or whatever it is called at the time).

That is now Croydon MP Sarah Jones. Before she became an MP in 2017 (defeating Gavin Barwell), she was a civil servant at the Department of Culture, Media & Sport, involved in organising the 2012 Olympics.

Before that, she worked for housing charity Shelter and the NHS Confederation in lobbying roles.

On her new responsibilities with the Construction Leadership Council, she said: “The construction sector is vital to our economy, supporting thousands of jobs in every part of the UK, and will be at the heart of our mission to deliver growth and get Britain building again.”