Catholic MP appointed new Faith Minister

Florence Eshalomi, a practising Catholic who is MP for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green, has been appointed the new Faith Minister.

A member of Christians in Parliament and chair of Friends of Cafod, she was named Minister for Homelessness by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, succeeding Lord Lemos. Her portfolio in this role includes democracy and communities as well as faith.

Her responsibilities will be faith community engagement, social cohesion, integration, anti-extremism and elections policy, as well as holding the crucial briefs for homelessness and rough sleeping which the Prime Minister has emphasised repeatedly as high priorities. Only today, Andy Burnham announced the next steps in his national drive to end rough sleeping by announcing immediate action to offer everyone who needs it a route off the streets by Christmas, backed by increased funding of £442 million.

Eshalomi grew up in Brixton where she attended Mass at Our Lady of the Rosary.

Writing in The Tablet in 2024, ahead of the General Election, she said, “As a Christian MP, I often come across the idea that Labour ‘doesn’t do God’ and that there is somehow a tension between religion and progressive politics. The truth of course is that our party wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for the Christians who, with other founders, put their faith and belief into action to form the Labour movement.

“From the beginning Christians have played a profound role in the life of our party. Christian activists, parliamentarians, ministers, and prime ministers have all played their part.”

She added, “Faith has always been important to me personally. I have worshipped at Our Lady of the Rosary in Brixton for as long as I can remember. My two sisters were baptised there. My faith has grown there. My family and friends worship there. I met my husband there and we were married by our parish priest who conducted my first holy communion and confirmation. My two children were baptised there and my late mother’s funeral was held at the church. It is my safe place where I can connect with God.

“Simply put, the Church has been an anchor of my life. In this country we are blessed with the freedom to worship God openly. But many of our brothers and sisters across the world do not have that luxury.”

She also wrote of how her family comes from Nigeria and she still remembers with horror the attack on St Theresa Catholic Church in Abuja 15 years ago when on Christmas Day, a bomb killed 37 people and injured many more.

“While faith has an important role to play in our foreign policies, it is also vital that we continue to value the role of faith here in the UK. Whether responding to the destructive effects of austerity, supporting people through the pandemic, welcoming refugees from Syria, Hong Kong or Ukraine, or helping the most vulnerable through the cost-of-living crisis, faith makes a difference time and again,” she continued. “As a Christian politician I hold a unique position. It is a privilege to serve and care for constituents of all faiths or none. As a Catholic in public life, I enjoy playing my part to help people from different communities and backgrounds to work towards the common good.”

Writing in yesterday’s Standard, she describes how she will never forget being homeless herself as a child: “The hopelessness of being stuck in temporary accommodation with my mum and sisters. Moving from place to place with our things in suitcases and bin bags. And then the huge relief when my mum finally got the keys to our first council house in Brixton, giving us a chance to put down roots in a community we love.”

She says she got into politics to stand up for those suffering such injustices and give them a voice.

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