Florence Eshalomi grew up living in temporary accommodation. Today she’s the homelessness minister with the actual power to change the lives of children in that same situation.
It’s rare for a government minister to have real experience of the issues they’re tasked with fixing. Over recent times, some have been in posts for such short stints it must have been impossible for them to get a proper grasp of it.
Not only has Eshalomi experienced homelessness in her own life, she was also the chair of the housing committee responsible for scrutinising Keir Starmer’s government. She knows the homelessness space better than most, but Andy Burnham’s pledge to end rough sleeping means she has an enormous brief.
I met Eshalomi last week, at the Change Please coffee shop in Victoria. Launched 11 years ago, backed by Big Issue, it trains people facing homelessness to be baristas, giving them a job, accommodation advice, therapy and a bank account, helping them to turn their life around.
It must be strange to be a politician on a visit like this. Some handle it more successfully than others. There is excitement, anticipation. A fleet of government staff is sent ahead to prepare the space. It becomes hushed when the esteemed guest arrives, and they are jostled through to exchange a few polite words with the most important person in the room before being given the grand tour, all to a tight schedule.
Last month, Big Issue invited Labour big-hitters Andy Burnham, Angela Rayner and John Healey to The Independence Initiative in Bootle, where they made apple crumble and stacked shelves with residents. At Change Please, Eshalomi was taught to make a professional cup of coffee and challenged by the baristas to make latte art.
