A Letter from Baptist (& other) Brothers & Sisters in the UK to the new Prime Minister

Rt Hon Andy Burnham

MP Prime Minister

20 July 2026

Dear Prime Minister

Congratulations on your appointment. As the leaders of the Baptist, Methodist and United Reformed Churches in Britain, we write to assure you of our prayers and those of our congregations as you take up your new role.

We also write to encourage you to lead a government of integrity that pursues justice and peace and seeks to serve the common good, and to offer you the partnership and support of our churches in that task.

You take up office at a time when there are many challenges facing government and many strains evident in local communities, from the cost of living to the impacts of global conflict. There is also an urgent need to restore faith in the ability of politics to meet these challenges. You know from your time as Mayor of Greater Manchester that churches – and other faith and civic groups – are willing and capable partners in much of this work.

As Church denominations, we share a vision of a society where the poorest and most marginalised are at the centre, where refugees are welcomed, where the environment is renewed, where a just economy enables the flourishing of all life, and where politics is characterised by listening, kindness and truthfulness, and of a world that actively works for peace. Where there is common ground around this agenda, we are committed to seeking a constructive relationship with your government which will help to enable those hopes to be fulfilled. To that end, we look forward to opportunities to meet with you and your team.

As we and our predecessors said when this government was first elected two years ago, we will pray for God’s blessing to be on all endeavours to seek peace, justice and the wellbeing of this nation – and where we can embody that blessing, we will.

Yours sincerely,

Revd Mark Slaney Caroline Stead

President of the Methodist Conference Vice-President of the Methodist Conference

Revd Neil Thorogood, Moderator of the Revd Lynn Green

United Reformed Church General Assembly  General Secretary, Baptist Union of Great Britain