Good morning. Is a bin bag art – or a radical symbol of the realities of homelessness?

In this week’s newsletter, we visit the world’s first Museum of Homelessness, which recently opened in North London. Featuring white pants and bin bags, it shines a light on the injustice faced by people sleeping rough. 

We also have more of our ongoing election coverage. So far, no party has made a clear and strong commitment to ending poverty in the run-up to the general election.

The Big Issue has set out a Blueprint for Change, a plan for the next government to eradicate poverty for good. This includes an ‘essentials guarantee’ to be implemented in universal credit, so people can afford the basic necessities they need to survive.

Both Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer promised to make it easier for young people to buy their first home, but what about the problems people face afterwards? We meet Stephen this week, who lives in fear of his next bill dropping because of high service charges.

If you have a story to share, we want to listen. Get in touch at isabella.mcrae@bigissue.com or share your story here.

Stephen's story: ‘You live in fear next bill dropping’

Stephen lives in a two bedroom flat in Manchester where work is being done to remove cladding. The true dangers of cladding were only really exposed and scrutinised following the Grenfell fire in 2017.

Stephen had bought his flat four years earlier. Since then, his service charges have increased by nearly £350 every quarter, in part because of the cladding work needed.

“We are really struggling alongside other bills and outgoings,” he says.

But it’s his insurance bill which particularly rankles. The total cost of his block’s insurance policy, covering 165 leaseholders, is £80,937 a year. You may expect all of this to go towards the cost of insuring the block. It does not. Homeground, the managing agent, takes a £5,351 commission. The insurance broker then takes £4,258.

It’s contributing to growing bills. “We’ve got no control over it whatsoever,” says Stephen. “As leaseholders we are completely at the behest of the freeholder and the managing agent.

“If the cost doubled next year, there’s nothing we can do about that. You just live in fear of the next bill dropping,” he adds.

The high bills have made Stephen and his neighbours band together to scrutinise exactly what they’re paying for.

Read Stephen’s story and more about nasty hidden fees and service charges here.

In case you missed it

Nearly one million people only £10 a week away from poverty, study finds. There have been six prime ministers since this country last made sustained progress on reducing poverty. Here’s more.

Will Labour raise taxes? Sunak accused of lying over Starmer's '£2,000 tax hike'. Rishi Sunak’s attack line about a Labour tax rise is unravelling already. Read the story.

10 ways the Tories categorically failed to end rough sleeping. Making rough sleeping a thing of the past is a 2019 Conservative manifesto promise. We asked homelessness charities and campaigners why the Tories have fallen short. Read more.

Billions added to British energy bills due to failure to properly insulate homes, study finds. Government inaction is costing Brits billions – a burden that is disproportionately borne by the country’s renters. Find out more.

What is Labour's Great British Energy plan – and will it really bring down bills and ease cost of living? Labour has long-pledged to establish a publicly owned national energy company if it wins the general election. Read about it.

Universal credit claimants lose more than £1bn a year to 'automatic DWP deductions'. Half of people on universal credit have money deducted from their payments to repay debts and correct errors. Get the latest.

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White pants, bin bags and light on injustice: Inside the world's first Museum of Homelessness

The world’s first museum dedicated to homelessness finally has a home. And it might just be the world’s first museum to have a black bin bag as a headline exhibit.

The Museum of Homelessness (MOH) has existed for a decade but the search for a home has been a long one which has ironically mirrored the community it represents.

At one point they have even set up an exhibition on the street, displaying objects in the aptly named Street Museum. But last week they finally opened the doors of their own space at the Manor House Lodge on the edge of London’s Finsbury Park.

The museum, which is free to visit, uniquely offers a collection of objects and artefacts that tell us more about the realities of homelessness and the people who experience it. It is also a base for MOH’s community activism: to shine a light on the injustice of homelessness and challenge its existence.

Read more about the Museum of Homelessness.

Why universal credit must be increased urgently so people can afford the essentials

Universal credit falls short of the money people need to afford the basics they need to survive.

Millions of people in the UK are going without food, falling behind on bills and living in cold and damp homes as benefits fail to cover the cost of living.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the Trussell Trust and the Big Issue, backed by more than 100 organisations, are calling for an ‘essentials guarantee’ to be implemented into universal credit so people can at least afford the basics.

Here’s how it would work – and how you can show your support.