Burnham cuts VAT on electricity bills in first major policy announcement – UK politics live

Andy Burnham promised to end rough sleeping in England in his first pledge as prime minister, allocating an additional £340m over three years as he seeks to replicate the homelessness schemes he rolled out in Greater Manchester . Speaking in front of Downing Street immediately after becoming prime minister on Monday, Burnham said he would try to get people off the streets “at the earliest opportunity”. The announcement was welcomed by homelessness campaigners, who say the pledge can be met with enough money and political will. The prime minister’s critics, however, greeted the promise with scepticism, pointing out that despite having set out a similar goal as Greater Manchester mayor, Burnham had overseen four years of rising street homelessness . Officials said the government would now put an extra £340m into its homelessness strategy – equivalent to £113m a year – which would come from unused parts of the housing department’s budget. Graph showing rough sleeping by regional mayoralty