Burnham's Pledge

Moments before Andy Burnham stepped inside Number 10 as Prime Minister, he made a bold pledge. To end rough sleeping in the UK. It's a promise he made to the people of Greater Manchester as Mayor, and it was a target he couldn't achieve.

But what can be learned from the attempt? What were the stumbling blocks which affected a policy which he characterised as an improvisation, a bold, slightly hopeful effort to shake up the system?

In 2019, while the numbers were still dropping, the then Mayor of Greater Manchester gave an interview about the policy and the challenges facing it to the BBC Producer Kevin Core. Kevin had spent the week with a rough sleeper called Gary, and Gary's points about the reality of using the A Bed Every Night scheme were put to the Mayor. Seven years on, the man answering those questions is now Prime Minister. The interview serves as a to do list of the challenges that must be addressed if Andy Burnham is to scale up his plan to end rough sleeping across the UK.

Produced and Presented by Kevin Core.