Taking a leaf out of Jeremy Corbyn’s playbook, Andy Burnham today used his first pledge as Prime Minister to promise an end to rough sleeping in Britain. It was Jezza’s dream to make such an announcement from the steps of No. 10, but the new MP for Makerfield got there first.

There is, however, one glaring problem with Burnham’s grand vow: he does not exactly have the finest record on tackling homelessness. In his 2017 Manchester mayoral manifesto, the now-Prime Minister pledged to end rough sleeping by 2020 – only to admit in 2019 that the target would be missed. Far from eliminating the problem, in fact rough sleeping in Greater Manchester has risen for four consecutive years. The official Ministry of Housing and Local Government annual snapshot recorded 197 people sleeping rough in autumn 2025, up from 154 in 2024 and more than double the 89 recorded in 2021. The think tank IPPR North claims that 50,000 people are at risk of becoming homeless in the next four years without stronger action.

Eagle-eyed bean counters have spotted that the funding announced by Burnham today ‘will provide 1,200 homes and intensive support for at least 3,000 people.’ Yet the estimated number of people sleeping rough on a single night in autumn 2025 was 4,793. When it comes to the numbers, Burnham’s first pledge is already facing a rough count…