Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Max Wilkinson has welcomed Andy Burnham’s pledge to end rough sleeping in England by Christmas, but warned the Prime Minister faces a “difficult task” in achieving it.

Speaking to GB News, Mr Wilkinson said that if the Prime Minister manages to remove every homeless person from the streets and place them somewhere safe by Christmas Day, “we will all be applauding him”.

“It’s a noble aim, as you say,” he said. “My thoughts are that most of the homeless people that I’ve ever spoken to have a number of different problems in their lives.”

Mr Wilkinson said some rough sleepers may be dealing with addiction or mental health difficulties, while others could reject the idea that they would be safer living under a roof.

“So I think the Prime Minister has a really difficult task,” he said.

He argued that tackling rough sleeping in the long term would require more than a short-term effort to meet a Christmas deadline, with greater investment in social and council housing needed to address the underlying causes of homelessness.

“At the heart of actually solving the problem in the long term, because we can’t just talk about this for one Christmas, is the need to build much more social and council housing,” Mr Wilkinson said.

“If we get that right, we’re much more likely to see fewer people on our streets.”

He also linked the issue to the wider cost of living and housing pressures facing households across the country, saying the cost of housing remains one of the key concerns for voters.

“It’s something that we need to get a grip on as a nation,” he said.

Mr Wilkinson acknowledged that the Prime Minister had made some early announcements, but warned there was still significant work ahead.

“At the moment, while he’s made a few small early announcements, I think there is an awful long way to go,” he said.