The CIH Presidential Address and Appeal: A recent history

The annual CIH Presidential Address and Appeal has become a staple in the housing calendar. And for good reason. 

While the event allows us at CIH to share insight into the work we are doing with the UK housing sector, it serves as a prime opportunity for attendees to hear directly from our president on the issues that matter to them and to find out more about their presidential campaign. 

With this year’s event on 8 February fast approaching, we reflect on the three addresses that have taken place since the turn of the decade and the key causes our most recent presidents have championed. 

Oh, and make sure to read to the end, where we take a jaunt down memory lane to relive a memorable speech delivered by a very high-profile guest way back in 2013... 

Aileen Evans – 2020 

Delivered just before the pandemic took hold in the UK, Aileen Evans’ address focussed on mental health and homelessness – the latter of which formed the basis of her successor’s campaign. 

The Grand Union Housing Group CEO spoke about how she slept outside to support those who have no option but to sleep on the streets, highlighting the acuteness of the issue in her hometown of Milton Keynes. “Sleeping on concrete in a temperature of one degree was cold, noisy, uncomfortable and thought-provoking,” she recalled. “If I’d not been in the confines of the MK Dons stadium and had been sleeping alone in an underpass, I’d have been terrified.” 

Aileen’s address also touched on mental health, which was the focus of her ‘Shine a Light’ campaign. Although mental health is an important issue in its own right, one that should indeed be talked about more openly, Aileen’s focus turned out to be quite prescient, given the toll the pandemic would take on people’s wellbeing when the first lockdown struck just a month later. 

Aileen remained president the following year, when no Presidential Address and Appeal was held due to the pandemic. 

Jo Richardson – 2022 

Renowned housing professor and researcher Jo Richardson took the reins from Aileen Evans in the summer of 2021, following an extended presidency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When the Presidential Address and Appeal came round in February the following year, Jo had already made great strides with her homelessness campaign, ‘Homeful’ – and that was before she had literally done so by walking 22 miles in 46 consecutive days as part of her presidency. 

In her address, Jo called homelessness “a scourge on a modern wealthy country like the UK”. The campaign itself included a sizeable co-produced action research project exploring housing-led approaches to resolve and prevent all forms of homelessness across the UK. 

To help tackle the issue, Jo called on the government to build a minimum of 90,000 social rented homes each year for the next 10 years, alongside funding for a range of supported housing for people with diverse needs – both of which we have continued to call for in our most recent manifesto. 

Lara Oyedele – 2023 

The most recent Presidential Address and Appeal saw housing stalwart Lara Oyedele speak in her signature off-the-cuff style about many issues and developments in the housing space; from the Better Social Housing Review, which had been launched just two months prior, to the cost of living crisis, which stubbornly remains with us a year on. 

A big focus of Lara’s address, however, was her ‘In My Shoes’ campaign’, which championed diversity in the boardroom. “Why are there not more people that look like me in leadership roles and on boards?” she asked. “Why, in 2023, is there a diversity glass ceiling?”

Lara often spoke of the need to improve board diversity during her time as CIH president

Like her immediate predecessors, Lara was also keen to touch on the issue of homelessness. However, for Lara, the topic was more personal, having had lived experience of homelessness herself. 

“[I am] grateful to be standing here today as President of CIH,” Lara said. “What an achievement...something I didn’t dare to dream.” 

Jill Murray – 2024

This year, attendees will hear from Jill Murray BA FCIH, the former Byker Community Trust CEO who took over as CIH president at the end of last year. 

Jill will be speaking about her ‘Be EPIC' campaign, which aims to both help sector professionals achieve an exceptional career in housing and promote the range of job opportunities that the sector has to offer. Her campaign is closely tied to the professionalism agenda that has been galvanising the sector of late. 

Jill says her Presidential Address and Appeal will be “unique...never to be repeated”. 

Charities 

The Presidential Address and Appeal allows us at the CIH to promote the work we do as a charitable organisation and to raise funds so we can continue to deliver for our members and the wider sector. However, just as importantly, the event also provides an opportunity for our presidents to raise funds for their chosen charity. 

Aileen Evans supported the mental health charity Mind, Jo Richardson worked with End Youth Homelessness, while Lara Oyedele supported Shoe Aid, encouraging people to donate money or spare pairs of shoes – or both if they were able. 

It’s also worth noting the work that Alison Inman and Jim Strang put in during their presidencies to raise awareness of domestic violence and abuse, and to encourage the sector to come together to tackle the issue. Both Alison and Jim worked with Women’s Aid over the course of their presidencies, with their respective Presidential Address and Appeal events doing much to support the charity’s cause. 

This time round, attendees will be able to raise funds for Jill Haley’s chosen presidential charity, Action for Children, which supports vulnerable, disabled children; and young people and their families across the UK. 

Special guests 

While the CIH Address and Appeal has attracted some big speakers over the years, none have come bigger than Boris Johnson, who was the guest speaker for Paul Tennant’s dinner in 2013. 

Johnson, who was London Mayor at the time, spoke in his typical ebullient style (and of a peculiar fascination with Carla Bruni), bringing much levity to the evening but also reminding attendees of the need to build more homes and make housing more affordable – issues that are still very much with us more than 10 years on, even after Johnson’s time in Number 10. 

Have a look at what Johnson had to say back in 2013:

Boris Johnson was arguably the most high-profile guest to speak at a CIH Presidential Address and Appeal. But that’s not to say this year’s speaker – confirmed to be a senior politician – will be any less recognisable. Place your bets... 

• The 2024 CIH Presidential Address and Appeal will take place on the evening of 8 February at The Brewery, London – find out more

Main image: Aileen Evans' Presidential Address and Appeal in February 2020