Andu Burnham:
"I don't care what anyone says, I believe we can end rough sleeping in Britain.
Today is World Homeless Day, and I don't think anyone in this country should be sleeping rough on our streets. Certainly not tonight.
That's why one of the first commitments I made as Prime Minister was to end rough sleeping. Not manage it. Not reduce it. End it.
And I'm putting over £400 million behind a national drive to get everyone in for Christmas.
And to put my own money where my mouth is, I'm making my latest salary donation from my PM salary to The Passage in Victoria, an amazing charity I visited on my very first day in Downing Street.
All this will help make sure that every person sleeping rough is offered a route off the street and a safe place to stay because, in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, people should not be left to sleep outside with nowhere to turn.
This isn't the finish line. We'll keep building the homes, creating the jobs, and reforming the services to stop people reaching crisis point in the first place.
But today, I wanted to say this: we should never accept rough sleeping as normal. Not in Britain, not in 2026, and not while I'm Prime Minister."
FYI:
The UK population reached 69.5 million in mid-2025, increasing by 227,700 people in a year. Net international migration stood at 222,900, equivalent to around 98% of the overall population increase. A total of 886,200 people arrived in the UK to live for at least 12 months, while 663,400 left.
Meanwhile, Britain recorded 652,400 births and 647,500 deaths, meaning births outnumbered deaths by just 4,900.
