Andy Burham says rough sleeping pledge 'may not succeed' but he 'has to try'

Andy Burham says rough sleeping pledge 'may not succeed' but he 'has to try' The new PM vowed on the streets of Downing Street to try and end rough sleeping, and said he wanted everyone living on the streets to be given an offer of accommodation by Winter Andy Burnham has admitted he “may not succeed” in getting homeless people off the streets for Christmas. The new PM vowed on the streets of Downing Street to try and end rough sleeping, and said he wanted everyone living on the streets to be given an offer of accommodation by winter. However, speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Mr Burnham admitted he could not make people accept the offer. He said: “I will do my best to give everybody an offer. And the real failure would be, if that didn't happen, if someone out there said, ‘well, no one said I could come in’. And I may not succeed. “Let me just put my hands up and say that. I'd rather try, because that's who I am. I want to bring those values to the way I go about this. “What I am working to ensure by Christmas is that everybody's given an offer of accommodation. I can't force somebody to walk into that accommodation”. Asked if he was rowing back on the pledge, which has been welcomed by homeless charities, the PM insisted he would not stop fighting to help people off the street. He said: “No, no, no… that is the policy, and as long as I'm Prime Minister, that will be the policy, an ‘everyone in policy’, and it's not a temporary policy. It's a permanent policy. “I want to be clear that you cannot force somebody to leave where they are and come in. But the ambition is clear. What I can guarantee is everyone in that position is given an offer, and that's what I'm asking everyone in this team to do by Christmas.” The Makerfield MP also repeated his rallying cry that the national effort will require not just funding but also support from faith organisations and charities. He added: “It's a permanent thing. It's not just, we have a drive for Christmas and then it goes away.” The pledge was made as England's regional mayors convened at the first “virtual situation room” meeting that was convened by Number 10 North. Vowing to transform Britain, the PM said: “Together we're going to drive growth through Number 10 North and change the way the country is run. “This is a huge innovation that shouldn't be underestimated. Some people want to call it a gimmick. It's far from that.”