Andy Burnham became Britain's 59th prime minister on 20 July 2026. Before this, he was Greater Manchester's mayor from 2017 to 2026. Burnham has made a promise to 'end rough sleeping' and has launched £422 million towards the cause, saying, "I will put the care of people at the heart of everything I do". This promise is being described as bold, but its feasibility remains in question.

Burnham has a long, highly publicised track record of trying to tackle rough sleeping. While serving as mayor of Greater Manchester, he made the core pledge to 'eradicate rough sleeping in the region by 2020', donating 15% of his own mayoral salary to a newly formed homelessness fund. A scheme called "A bed every night" was launched in 2018; it ensured emergency accommodation and support for all rough sleepers, regardless of whether they had local connections. The programme eventually expanded to provide more than 600 bed spaces per night. His local policies were initially highly successful, falling from 268 in 2017 to under 90 by 2021. There was then a backslide, and the numbers climbed back up to 197 by 2025.

Discussions around rough sleeping | Source: GMCA

Upon entering office in July 2026, Burnham pledged to take immediate action to offer everyone sleeping rough a route off the streets by Christmas 2026. This means every individual sleeping rough will receive an explicit, immediate offer of emergency or temporary accommodation, paired with vital support services such as psychiatric and mental health care, addiction and substance misuse recovery, and physical health provisions.

Rough sleeping in the UK | Source: BBC

Ending rough sleeping is considered possible by organisations like Crisis and the government. Still, it requires big systematic change, long-term funding, and addressing complex root causes rather than just providing temporary beds. Nearly 1,000 households seek homelessness support every day in England alone. One young person aged 16-24 becomes homeless or at risk of homelessness every 4 minutes in the UK, which equates to roughly 360 young people per day. This shows why ending rough sleeping permanently is a long-term challenge that will need constant monitoring.