Citizens UK

27/05/2026

Eid Mubarak to our members, colleagues, friends and neighbours who celebrate! 🥳

May you all have a joyous day filled with love and community! 🕊️✨

21/05/2026

This spring, we held a major summit in Westminster to launch Named Community Sponsorship - bringing together Minister Alex Norris, the Home Office, and over 60 organisations.

This is an exciting new approach that gives communities a direct role in welcoming refugees - helping to create safe, legal routes and stronger local connections.

Watch the highlights from the day 🎥 https://bit.ly/named-sponsorship-summit

We’re now building a growing movement to make this a reality.

👉 Join the Named Sponsorship Network and get involved: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/named-sponsorship-network

14/05/2026

Today, we launched ‘Making London Work for All’ to further tackle low pay and insecure work across the capital.

The first phase of the initiative, ‘Making London a Living Wage City’, ran from September 2021 to August 2025 and secured over 70,000 pay rises nationally through London-headquartered employers. 🙌
Despite this, over 13% of jobs in London are still paid below the London Living Wage (currently £14.80 an hour).

The Making London Work for All initiative will address fair pay, and the links between health inequalities, housing, immigration and work.

Bringing together workers with experience of low pay and leaders from civil society and business in the project’s key industries, the Steering Group will guide and champion the work over the coming years to ensure the project’s success, including co-chairs Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, Deputy Mayor for Business and Growth, Howard Dawber, Bishop of Croydon Rosemarie Mallett, and Anna Purchas, KPMG London Senior Partner and Regional Chair.

💬 Gina Rodriguez, Citizens UK leader and Steering Group member, said: “I know what low pay feels like, the stress of another bill to pay and choosing between heating and eating. Through this movement, I’ve seen how powerful change can be when communities, employers and local government come together. I’m proud to be part of a movement making sure London works for everyone who calls it home.”

Find out more 👇
https://bit.ly/4dkgH3N

13/05/2026

We welcome plans in today’s King's Speech to extend voting rights to 16 and 17-year-olds. 🙌

As part of our vision of a vibrant and inclusive democracy with civil society at its heart, Citizens UK has long campaigned to unlock young people's democratic participation. Lowering the voting age to 16 and 17-year-olds was a key ask in our Citizens Manifesto in 2024, developed by community leaders ahead of the last general election.

Originally announced in summer 2025 and included in the Representation of the People Bill in today’s King's Speech, this change will give thousands more young people a say in decisions affecting their lives and communities.

Find out how young leaders across Citizens UK are shaping change: https://bit.ly/4ws6dbs

12/05/2026

For a quarter of a century, the Living Wage movement has helped reshape what fair pay looks like in the UK. 🙌

What began as a hopeful idea, driven by low-paid workers in East London organising for fair pay, has grown into one of the most successful civil society campaigns of the 21st century.

To mark the 25-year anniversary, Citizens UK community leaders Paul Regan, a Methodist minister, and senior NHS leader and Catholic activist Bernie Harris, who were both involved from the earliest days, reminisce about the campaign’s challenges and triumphs in The Guardian.

💬 “We did a sort of listening campaign around the 30 or 40 member institutions in Telco (East London Citizens). The basic issue that we were seeing our families confronting was low wages – people having to work several jobs to make ends meet – and the cost of housing”, said Paul.

The article explores how local citizens, faith leaders and community organisations originally came together to tackle low pay, which has helped put £4.2 billion back into the pockets of the lowest-paid workers.

Read the article👇
https://bit.ly/4eA4vhL

11/05/2026

"Every person has dignity, value, and a place to belong."

On 4th May 2026, a thousand people gathered in Forest Gate for the 20th Anniversary of the annual Migrant Mass.

✍️ Citizens UK community organiser Caroline Verdant reflects on the vibrant celebration and the power of people coming together across differences.

Read the blog 👇

On 4th May 2026, a thousand people gathered in East London for the 20th Anniversary of the annual Migrant Mass.

07/05/2026

This is community power in action. 🤝

Ahead of local elections taking place today and up and down the country, hundreds of Citizens UK community leaders secured commitments from candidates across parties on campaign issues, from work, housing and child poverty to the real Living Wage.

From Newcastle to Birmingham, Reading to Sunderland, Ealing to Hackney, community leaders across schools, mosques, churches, synagogues, unions and charities shared powerful testimonies and built relationships with candidates so that, if elected, they can work with them to make change on the issues that matter most to them.

Find out more 👇
https://bit.ly/3Rqrxhj

06/05/2026

This is local people making change.

Ahead of local elections, Tyne & Wear Citizens held two assemblies in Sunderland and Newcastle, where 350 people came together to hear from candidates across parties on the alliance’s campaign asks.

Candidates showed their support for key campaign areas, including Community Safety, SEND Provision, Dentistry and the real Living Wage and committed to working with Tyne & Wear Citizens if elected.

Hear from Tyne & Wear Citizens community organisers Michael Thompson and Sara Bryson on BBC Radio Newcastle, as they reflect on the alliance’s achievements, including winning a one-pound bus fare for all 16 to 21-year-olds in the region following a five-year campaign bringing together everyday people to make change.

Listen to the full interview 👇
https://bit.ly/4f4KLTz

27/04/2026

💪 Young people from Citizens Somerset are stepping up, and being heard.

💬 “I realised that myself and a lot of other young people have a lot of anger at the moment, and we want to develop ourselves so we can fight for our futures and make a difference in the community around us.”

Ahead of Citizens Somerset’s Refounding Assembly on 23 April, Ellie, who has been organising with Citizens Somerset for the past four years, spoke to BBC Radio Somerset about the growing leadership of young people in the region.

From taking action locally to joining 70 other community leaders for our National Housing Action in Parliament Square last October, young leaders have been making their voices heard, calling on their local MP to incorporate housing repairs into the Government’s Warm Homes Plan.

Hear more from Ellie and stay tuned as we share updates from Citizens Somerset’s Refounding Assembly.

24/04/2026

Ealing Citizens community leaders publish an open letter ahead of local elections, asking candidates to protect children and families living in temporary accommodation.

With 4,436 children currently living in temporary accommodation in Ealing, children are facing disrupted education, poor health, and constant instability.

💬 Michelle, a young person, shared: “I was moved from hotel to hotel while still expected to sit my GCSEs, revise and carry on as if everything was normal. While other people worried about grades and revision timetables, I was worrying about keys, check-out times and whether we would be moved again the next day.”

The open letter calls on candidates to publicly commit to three actions if elected:

- To immediately notify schools and GPs when a child is placed in or moved within TA
- To guarantee the Five Basics in all TA, including cooking areas, laundry access, wi‑fi, secure storage and clear information
- To keep children close to their schools, with priority given to those in GCSE and post‑16 exam years.

Read more about the open letter in Ealing Times: https://www.ealingtimes.co.uk/news/26040189.ealing-community-leaders-election-plea-struggling-families/

Find out more about our housing and homelessness campaign: https://www.citizensuk.org/campaigns/housing-homelessness/