Manchester’s homeless slam Andy Burnham: ‘Open your eyes!’

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has been told by the homeless to “open his eyes” to rough sleeping in Manchester, as some told the Express he let them down when he was their mayor. Meanwhile, Mancunian OAPs and workers warned the new PM that the cost-of-living crisis is his biggest challenge after he breezed into 10 Downing Street earlier this week.

In his first pledge as PM, Burnham promised to end rough sleeping in England with an additional £340m over three years, as well as a £2 cap on bus fares and a 5% VAT cut on electricity bills worth on average £45 a year. Burnham vowed to end rough sleeping before, when he became mayor in 2017 – but despite initially dropping from 268 rough sleepers a night in Manchester to 90, new figures suggest it’s more than doubled to 197.

Piccadilly Gardens, near the city’s main train station, has been dubbed ‘Crackadilly Gardens’ due to its popularity with drug users, garnering unwelcome attention on social media.

Just off the Gardens, I met homeless mother-of-three Michelle, 34, who tragically lost one child when young, and has sadly been unable to care for her other two. Although she gets some benefits, she has been legally homeless for almost four years and has been living rough on the streets of Manchester since December, but previously worked in sales and cafes.

Upbeat and freely chatting, she said she “feels more comfortable on the streets” than in a hostel, claiming that as a lone woman she’s been attacked in them before. Michelle said Andy Burnham needs to “open his eyes” to the reality of homelessness in his own city before thinking he can solve it for the rest of the UK.

When I asked her what Burnham could do to help get her off the streets, she selflessly admitted: “There’s other people who are more vulnerable.” She said life on the streets is disgusting, as there are no toilets available anywhere, and although she gets some benefits, she needs help managing her money as she is terrible with it.

Michelle showed us the doorway where she sleeps, with some cardboard and an NHS blanket on the floor, pointing out some vomit she had cleaned up that someone had left by her ‘bed’. Michelle said of Burnham: “All he can do is speak to people and hear them – nobody else hears people, especially invisible people like me.” She said she was sleeping in the doorway where I spoke to her as she had been sleeping in a train station, but got told to move.

Officials this week said the Government would now put an extra £340m into its homelessness strategy – equivalent to £113m a year – sourced from unused parts of the housing department’s budget. Also in Piccadilly Gardens, I met the friendly but unfortunate Joseph McDowell, 63. Joe, who swigged from a can of lager in his waterproof jacket pocket as we spoke, was originally from Glasgow, in Scotland, before moving to Leeds and then Manchester.

He said he was living with his ex-wife, but she tragically died, and he could not keep the flat, so six months ago he started to live on the city’s streets.

Joe told us he never voted for Andy Burnham, as he has never voted, but doubts the new Labour leader can do all that he boasts he will. Joe explained: “It’s too early to say, but when he was mayor, he said he would help the homeless get into hotels – but he never built hotels for the homeless!”

He admitted Burnham had let the homeless down in Manchester, and when I asked if he would then let the UK’s homeless down by not fulfilling the pledge he made on Monday, Joe said: “Oh definitely, yeah.” Joe feared people may be disappointed by Burnham when he’s past his political honeymoon period, and although the PM’s announcement to cap bus fares to £2 was good: “What about some cost of living payments for the poor?”

I asked Joe how Andy Burnham could help him get off the streets – he replied “by giving us money or putting us in hotels” as there were not enough homeless hostels. He admitted: “At night, I sleep where I can. It’s dangerous. People p**s on you.”

An 84-year-old shopper, from Miles Platting, in Manchester, was pushing her shopping basket down Market Street when we stopped her for a quick chat about the PM. She asked us not to name her, and stressed it is “too early to know” whether Burnham will be an inspiration – or a catastrophe.

But she added: “I like him, he was all right in the town hall, but you don’t know until they get in (at 10 Downing Street) because they all say the same thing and it doesn’t come.”

She quipped that she didn’t worry he might let her down as, “I’m on my way out – I’m on borrowed time!” She said she could do with more money in her pocket and “the gas and electricity down a bit”, admitting the VAT reduction on electricity bills was “good of him” and “a start.”

Teacher Mark Thomson, 59, of Manchester, said he always liked Burnham as mayor, but he faced “huge challenges” now as Prime Minister – and he had some reservations about whether he could handle such a “big job”. He also worried that Burnham could find himself labelled a “people pleaser” by doing what he thinks will be popular – rather than what he believes will genuinely fix the country.

Mark said he voted for Sir Keir Starmer at the last election and has always been a Labour voter, and he finds it hard to see how things have gotten worse instead of better.

He added: “I’m naturally a cynical person, but just days into his job, I’m hopeful for Burnham. He’s a bit more of a breath of fresh air. He’s positive. Let’s see what he does. The cost of living crisis is the biggest issue for most people. That should be his priority. I’m biased because he’s represented this city for years, and he’s northern. He’s got a lot of challenges. Let’s see how he addresses those.”

On ending homelessness, Mark admitted Burnham said he “wanted to do that as soon as he became Mayor of Greater Manchester, but it’s easier said than done”. But Mark stressed of homelessness: “It’s a major concern and it’s morally and ethically the right thing to be looking at.”

He added that he hopes Burnham’s new political team can “take us in a better direction” and he remains “optimistic.”

During his time as mayor, Burnham backed Housing First, a government-funded initiative to give former rough sleepers a permanent home before wider issues are addressed, and it was introduced in the region in 2019.

It has seen a reported 458 people cumulatively rehoused, with 269 people currently on the programme. A year earlier, Burnham set up ‘a bed every night’ scheme, which offered emergency accommodation to those on the streets, and now provides more than 600 bed spaces.

Wednesday this week was graduation day for hundreds of university students, and the city centre was packed with thrilled graduates in their gowns and mortarboards, alongside proud parents in smart suits and outfits. Sitting on the plinth of a statue in the city’s Albert Square, having a break in the sunshine, I met hospitality worker Chris Willis, 44, who happily chatted to us but did not want to be on camera.

Speaking to us just a few yards from Heron House, set to be the temporary site for Burnham’s highly vaunted ‘No 10 in the North’ – the base where Burnham will work one day a week as Prime Minister – Chris said the economy needs a complete reset and small businesses should be at the heart of it.

Easy-going Chris explained how he works in a restaurant, but the hospitality sector in the UK right now is a “s**t show”.

He explained: “The cost of living has gone up, overheads have gone up, and small businesses are struggling, with National Insurance, the increases in minimum wage – which I agree is a good thing – but these all add to the bills of small firms who employ a lot of people.”

Chris said he used to run a small food kitchen franchise business, but by the time wages and overheads were paid, he could not pay himself anything like a livable salary. He also warned that Burnham could end up like many politicians when they get in power.

Chris explained: “They start with good intentions and end up corrupted by the job. I wish him good luck. He will need it.”