Burnham pledges to get thousands of rough sleepers off the streets by Christmas

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has launched a major campaign aimed at ensuring no one is forced to sleep on the streets by Christmas. In an article for the Guardian, he said rough sleeping has become so common that it now feels like part of the everyday scenery, even though it shouldn't be accepted as normal.

Burnham compared the effort to the pandemic-era response, when the country managed to quickly get people off the streets and out of the cold. He stressed that the goal is not simply to manage or reduce rough sleeping but to end it entirely, and that the first step is a £442m commitment behind the national drive. The prime minister is expected to visit a homelessness charity in north-east England later today.

Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said she was confident enough accommodation could be found to house everyone by Christmas. However, she cautioned that the problem cannot be solved in isolation in a single area, pointing to Greater Manchester, where rough sleeping numbers initially fell but later rose again as people moved into the region from elsewhere. Rayner said longer-term support—including help with employment, mental health and addiction—would be essential alongside emergency accommodation.

Homelessness campaigners welcomed the announcement but warned that more action is still needed to address the underlying temporary accommodation crisis, which has left the UK with the worst homelessness situation in the western world.

Other developments

Burnham also confirmed a new agreement between the government and the West Midlands Combined Authority to bring bus services under local control, aiming to protect thousands of jobs after the parent company of operator National Express signalled it was exiting the market. He addressed a text exchange with someone impersonating a senior aide to Donald Trump, saying nothing of consequence was shared. Burnham said he would present findings from a review of the early prisoner release scheme when parliament returns in two weeks. Separately, Labour donor and green energy entrepreneur Dale Vince called on the government to approve further North Sea oil and gas drilling projects.