Call on your council to Fix the Five Basics.

Right now, families across London are living in temporary accommodation without the basics they need to survive.

Parents are trying to feed their children using only a kettle. Young people are falling behind at school because they can't get online. Families are going into debt just to store their belongings safely.

This isn't inevitable. Councils across London are already finding practical, affordable ways to fix this — providing free Wi-Fi, avoiding placements without cooking facilities, giving residents clear information about their rights.

The 2026 local elections are your chance to make this happen in your borough.

Use this tool to email your Cabinet Member for Housing — the councillor with the power to change housing policy — or the Leader of the Opposition, who can push for the Five Basics in their party's manifesto.

The email is pre-written, but adding your own story makes it more powerful. It takes 2 minutes.

How to use this tool:

  1. Select your borough

  2. Fill in your details

  3. Read through and personalise our template email

  4. Press ‘Open in your email app’. This will open a filled in draft to send to your councillor

  5. Press ‘send’

  6. If you want to, come back to the tool, select ‘Leader of the Opposition’ to send another email to your borough’s opposition leader.

If you receive a response from your council, please do share it with us at fivebasicscampaign@gmail.com.

1

Select your borough

Your email will be sent to:

2

Your details

3

Review and personalise your email

Tip: Personal stories make emails more impactful. Consider adding why this issue matters to you.

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This will open your default email app with the email pre-filled. You'll need to press 'Send'.

Having trouble? If the button doesn't open your email app, you can copy and paste the message above and send it directly to the councillor's email address shown. You can also try using this tool on your mobile.