Our Local Organiser, Lauren, had the immense privilege of being invited to Downing Street – the very heart of the UK government! Lauren shares some thoughts about being recognised for spearheading local campaigning in Bristol.

At inHope, we have long known that hunger isn’t a food problem, but an income problem. That’s why we have been mobilising our community to add their voices to campaigns that call for changes to the benefit system.

Throughout 2025 inHope has worked on several campaigns: Trussell’s Guarantee Our Essentials campaign, to increase Universal Credit to ensured that it meets everyone’s essential needs; our own campaign around changes to Personal Independence Payments (PIP); and the End Child Poverty Coalition’s campaign in calling for the removal of the two-child limit. We were delighted to hear that the Chancellor of the Exchequer listened to the campaign and announced the removal of the two-child limit in the Autumn Budget.

To further show her support, the Chancellor held a reception at Number 11 Downing Street to personally thank those involved in campaigning for this policy. I was privileged to be asked to go as a representative of both inHope and Trussell in recognition of the time I had spent campaigning on this issue. It was an incredible honour to attend this reception alongside Trussell’s Co-CEO Emma Revie and other campaigners from a wide range of different charities, many of whom had been campaigning for several years.

It was great to hear Rt Hon Rachel Reeves share her and the Government’s commitment to invest in all children in the UK’s future. The chancellor spoke of this being one of the reasons that she entered politics, having a desire that no child was at a disadvantage simply because of where they were born. She also spoke about how important it was to her to make sure the rape clause was removed, something long campaigned for by many women’s organisations, to ensure that no child is punished for the way they were conceived, and no women must relive and prove the trauma they had suffered.

The removal of this policy has the potential to list 450,000 children out of poverty, which is something that can only be positive for everyone. One of the most poignant moments for me was hearing from a youth ambassador who shared her own story, the reality of living under this policy and the difference that this change will make to so many families.

This isn’t the end of the campaign about the two-child limit on benefits; there is still more work to be done in ensuring that this policy is never bought back in by a future government. This is the first step in making sure that our benefits system is set up to help rather than push people further into poverty. The event was a great reminder to stop and celebrate what we have achieved collectively before focusing on the next steps to ensure no one needs to rely on a foodbank to survive.