Keir Starmer: 'This Christmas I am pledging to make sure no one faces homelessness'

When I was growing up, our home was my family’s security. It wasn’t much, maybe – just a semi detached house in Surrey – but for me, it was the base camp from which I could learn and grow. Some years later, as a lawyer, many of my first cases were fighting for families at risk of homelessness, because I wanted every child to have that security I had. 

And yet, we know so many people don’t have that basic safety and security of a home in this country. Over 150,000 children are in temporary accommodation, the highest on record. Rough sleeping in 2023 was 27% higher than the previous year. As winter closes in and temperatures drop, too many people will be on the sharp end of our broken housing system this Christmas. Big Issue has worked tirelessly to tackle homelessness over 33 years. They’ve done incredible work to seek solutions to embedded poverty and stand alongside the most vulnerable. This government is determined to do our part too. 

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We have allocated £10m in additional funding to Rough Sleeping Winter Pressures funding to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping this winter. It will be targeted towards the areas that face the most pressure. This is in addition to the £547m rough sleeping initiative that will help local authorities save lives, support people who are sleeping rough and provide immediate accommodation and support to prevent people returning to the street.

There are no quick fixes to this problem. The last Labour government did so much to tackle homelessness. But after 14 years of the Tories, it is 140% higher than it was in 2010. This Labour government is determined to do all it can to make sure everyone has a safe place to call home. 

I know homelessness is complex – it requires a collaborative approach across different departments. That’s why we have set up a new, dedicated inter-ministerial group. Chaired by deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, it will bring together ministers from across government to drive our strategy on ending homelessness. It will also work with local authorities and regional mayors to tackle the root causes of homelessness and make sure every region gets the support it needs.

I’ve always believed people with skin in the game make the best decisions. That’s why we are also fixing the foundations of local government. We have already given councils more flexibility to use Right to Buy receipts to build and buy more social homes. That’s on top of an additional £450m for councils to secure homes for families at risk of homelessness. 

And we’re empowering councils to do what’s right for their community, providing more stability through multi-year funding settlements, because I know too many councils face a cliff edge trying to tackle homelessness. 

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Across the country, we’re increasing funding for homelessness services next year by £233m. That will take the total spend to almost £1bn in 2025-26. 

We are also making specialist support available to particularly vulnerable people, including veterans. I know that there are people sleeping on our streets who were prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for our nation. It’s unacceptable to repay people’s service with such betrayal. That’s why, earlier this year, I was proud to announce that this government will house all veterans in housing need. People who put their lives on the line to protect us all will be prioritised, for a lifetime. Homes will be there for our heroes. This £3.5m in additional funding will ensure wraparound service to support homeless veterans, help them secure employment, live independently and deal with mental health challenges.

We are making the same guarantee for other people at particular risk of homelessness – including young care leavers and victims of domestic abuse. Those who are vulnerable will get the support they need to find the safe home they deserve. We can make these promises because we are taking action to tackle the root causes of homelessness. We are delivering the biggest increase in social affordable housing in a generation. Unlocking our broken planning reform system will deliver 1.5 million homes in this parliament, while £500m for the affordable homes programme will build 5,000 properties.

We are also rebalancing housing towards renters, putting an end to Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions. Last year alone, nearly 26,000 households faced homelessness as a result of a Section 21 eviction. We are stopping landlords from exploiting and discriminating against private renters and empowering people to challenge unreasonable rent increases. This will give 11 million renters greater security. 

Across the board, we’re working to end homelessness. Each of our missions – boosting living standards, cheaper bills, cutting the NHS backlog, making our streets safer and providing better opportunities for children and young people – will all make a difference to those at risk.

We can’t build a strong future for our country unless people have a safe home today. This Christmas, I am pledging to tackle this injustice and make sure no one faces homelessness. I’d like to take this opportunity to wish all Big Issue readers a very merry Christmas, and a happy and peaceful new year.

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