Earlier this summer, there was repeated criticism that Andy Burnham had arrived in Downing Street without having to show much of a plan. Certainly, he had not had the scrutiny of a general election, or a broader leadership campaign. The usefulness of these rites of passage might well be questioned. Starmer, after all, passed through both (and two years of government) without formulating an idea of what governing power was for and how he might wield it. It might also be unfair on Burnham, whose 2024 book Head North set out where his political vision now sits.
In the last few days, we have started to see a little more of Burnhamism in action. The removal of time restrictions on disabled people’s free travel and his pledge to eliminate street homelessness by Christmas are signs of a build-up before the end of the summer break. Neither is a big policy, but they do show something of his thinking. The first, allowing disabled people to travel for free all day, is a nod to his focus on the cost of living and the importance of public transport. The homelessness pledge echoes one he made for Manchester. More importantly, it suggests a shrewdness of politics that has been absent from all major parties for some time.
The idea is eye-catching. It echoes the Everyone In policy, which sought to move people off the streets during COVID. Around 37,000 people were helped by that programme, with around a quarter of them then finding more permanent housing. Burnham’s new policy offers nearly £500 million (expensive-sounding, but very little in the grand scheme of taxpayer money) to build up a programme of accommodation and “wraparound support”. It is served with a populist garnish, of Burnham himself donating a chunk of his Prime Ministerial salary to homelessness charities.
Success is far from guaranteed. Though the COVID-era scheme helped many, homelessness has continued to be a major problem. As Mayor of Manchester, Burnham missed his own targets for reducing rough sleeping. It is, after all, a very difficult problem. Those who sleep rough often have complex needs, and their homelessness is the result of many overlapping factors, both personal and structural. There is also a stock-and-flow issue. Even as you are taking people off the street, new ones are coming on - from regular housing, absconding migrants, from prison. Unless you stem these inputs, you are dealing with the symptoms of a perpetual problem. The PM probably knows his target will be missed, but perhaps that doesn’t matter.
