Letter From the Prime Minister

On 20 July 2026 we wrote to Andy Burnham, congratulating him on his appointment as Prime Minister. We invited him to come and see us in person: to join our Tuesday service on Spenser Street in Victoria and witness what 25 years of grassroots, youth-led outreach to London's homeless and rough sleeping community looks like.

That same afternoon, we posted on our LinkedIn page celebrating his announcement that he wants to eliminate homelessness, writing: "How refreshing to see 'impossible issues' being tackled head-on in a positive and ambitious tone from the incoming PM. A society that focuses on protecting the weakest and lifting them up will always be more successful." At the time we reached for Dorothy Day's words: "No one has a right to sit down and feel hopeless. There's too much work to do."

On 19 August 2026, the Prime Minister's office wrote back: not to an institution, but to our youth.

The letter, on 10 Downing Street paper, tells us that within moments of walking through the door for the first time, the Prime Minister issued his first instruction in office: a national drive to end rough sleeping. He is clear about why. "I know that there are local leaders, charities, purpose-driven businesses, community groups and volunteers - people like you - who have developed proven local-led approaches. And it is time that national government backed you." He calls thousands of people sleeping rough each night "not inevitable, but a choice by politicians," and says he is choosing differently.

A letter our youth will keep

What moved us most was not the ambition, real as it is, but the recognition. For 25 years our volunteers have shown up on Tuesday evenings on Spenser Street with no fanfare and no funding fanfare either — just hot food, a listening ear, and the belief that no one should be left without a safe place to call home. To have that quiet, persistent work acknowledged by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, addressed directly to the young people who give up their evenings to do it, is no small thing.

The Government, he writes, looks forward to engaging with us further. We intend to hold him to it.

How you can help

A letter is a wonderful thing, but it doesn't hand someone a hot meal or a set of keys to a stable home. That work is still ours, and we cannot do it without you. We continue to find real and practical ways to assist the homeless and rough sleeping to exit the uncertainty of their situation into productive and stable lives:


• Please consider supporting us as we support the homeless and rough sleeping in the interim, while they look to find their way into stable living conditions: https://copticcitymission.com/help-us
• Please consider supporting our sister charity, The Starting Over Fund, which funds the socially disadvantaged with small one-off grants to find stable homes and employment opportunities on their path out of homelessness (Charity number: 1172396)
• Support our youth. Twenty-five of us are running the London 10K on 11 October 2026 at Wembley. Come and cheer us on the day or donate to our running team on our GoFundMe page: https://gofund.me/d316c5074

To our youth and volunteers
This letter is yours. Keep going. And if you have never joined us on a Tuesday, now is a very good time to start.

Verses to meditate upon
• 2 Corinthians 9:7 "Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."
• Proverbs 22:9 "The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor."
• Luke 6:38 "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

10 DOWNING STREET
LONDON SW1A 2AA

THE PRIME MINISTER

Thank you for your kind words on my appointment as Prime Minister and for all that you do to help tackle homelessness in our country.

Just moments after walking through the door of 10 Downing Street for the first time, I issued my first instruction as Prime Minister: a national drive to end rough sleeping. I didn’t do that because I think national government has the answers. I did it because I know that there are local leaders, charities, purpose-driven businesses, community groups and volunteers — people like you — who have developed proven local-led approaches. And it is time that national government backed you.

For too long Westminster has turned a blind eye, believing that ending rough sleeping will take decades or even that it’s impossible. I’m not having that. Thousands of people sleeping rough every night in our country is not inevitable, but a choice by politicians. I am making a different choice. This is about the kind of country I want us to be — a place where everyone has the security of a roof over their head and where no-one is left behind or written off. And it’s about restoring faith that politics can solve deep-seated problems and make life better for people in this country.

I feel optimistic because there is a great wealth of expertise across civil society, from those who have been homeless themselves to those who work to support them. These experiences will be critical to this national effort; as will the resources and investment of the impact economy. I know that there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach, with specialist organisations also playing a crucial part in assisting individuals experiencing multiple disadvantages.

I started my first day as Prime Minister by visiting The Passage in London’s Victoria. The dedication of the staff I met, and the courage of people rebuilding their lives, shows what is possible when we act with purpose. In that spirit, thank you once again for writing.

The Government looks forward to engaging with you further on this important matter.

Together, we can create a country where no-one is left without a safe place to call home.

THE RT HON ANDY BURNHAM MP