Post

James Ball
@jamesrball.com

Ending rough sleeping is a nice pledge to hear – but worth noting it's *much* easier to achieve than ending homelessness. We pretty much managed it during Covid, but things got worse again rapidly. www.bigissue.com/news/housing...

bigissue.comCovid effectively ended rough sleeping. So where did it all go wrong?The Everyone In scheme virtually ended rough sleeping during the Covid pandemic but five years on homelessness has surged to new heights.

14 reposts76 likes

hammaryerdotta.bsky.social
@hammaryerdotta.bsky.social

Is there anything to be said about the way he & his wife were dressed, the absence of the traditional red? I know it sounds a stretch, but some thought would've gone into it. I actually thought he spoke quite well, and maybe he intends to tackle Labour's hard-left problem?

Rob Blackie
@robblackie.bsky.social

Interesting choice of language. Ending homelessness through building council housing is at least £13bn on my back of the envelope estimate (£100k subsidy per home / 134k households in temporary accommodation).

James Ball
@jamesrball.com

Going back a little further, the *last* Labour government – for which Burnham was a special advisor and then a minister – also all but ended rough sleeping. So we know it can be done, but also that it needs sustained attention to maintain. www.homelessnessimpact.org/news/greg-ba...

homelessnessimpact.orgThe inside story of how Tony Blair's New Labour all-but ended rough sleepingThis article by Greg Barradale, Senior Report for The Big Issue has been shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for Reporting Homelessness. Greg speaks to the key players in the last Labour government to fi...
James Ball
@jamesrball.com

Yes, slightly odd decision for Burnham to draw attention to a failed promise he made in Manchester. But I suppose we'd rather a PM made a promise on rough sleeping than deciding not to do so over embarrassment?

Lorraine Rogerson@lorrainerogerson.bsky.social

He did it in Manchester, but didn’t sustain it, apparently manchestermill.co.uk/exclusive-ro...

manchestermill.co.ukExclusive: Rough sleeping in Greater Manchester has risen for the fourth year in a rowPlus: Does Burnham want to build? Examining the mayor’s record on housing
James Ball
@jamesrball.com

Agree on this, too: rough sleeping is a very *visible* sign of state failure. So addressing it not only helps rough sleepers – which is the best reason to do it – but is a relatively cheap/easy way to show 'normal' people an obvious improvement. So it's good politics, if it works (and it should).

Stephen Bush@stephenkb.bsky.social

Indeed, it's deliverable, and its presence has an outsized impact on making people feel like things are falling apart IMV.

Brian Cutts
@briancutts.bsky.social

Live abroad but last year we came over to England and spent a day in Manchester, coincidentally, and we all came away horrified by the amount of homeless people on the streets there. As you say, it's a clear failure of the state and local bodies, and one of the things that needs sorting asap.

James Ball
@jamesrball.com

Yes, he did blame central government for the backsliding so I suspect he's got some quite concrete ideas on this. (Unlike some of this spending pledges which feel *distinctly woolly*)

Andrew Brook
@andrewbrook.bsky.social

Ironically Manchester’s relative prosperity may have drawn homeless people into the city, so it might be a never ending battle until every single rough sleeper is housed.

David L
@dlynch.bsky.social

Is it, perversely, easier to achieve nationally than locally / regionally, as attempting to do it only one area will inevitably draw rough sleepers from other areas.

Gary Lewis
@seasidegaz.bsky.social

Easier perhaps but by no means easy. Rough sleeping cannot be fixed just with the provision of a home. The issue speaks of many years of neglect & mismanagement of mental health services, support with addiction, legal aid provision etc. There is no quick or cheap fix for this.