Andy Burnham pledges to end rough sleeping in Britain in his first speech as new UK PM

LONDON: A man who once said his favourite biscuit would be “beer, chips and gravy”, who prefers to dress down, who is a fan of The Smiths, The Stone Roses and football, became the UK’s seventh prime minister in a decade on Monday.“King of the North” Andy Burnham, who in his former role as Greater Manchester mayor crafted a persona as the bloke who understands the concerns of ordinary people, preferring to dress in T-shirts and trainers, made his first pledge as PM to end rough sleeping in Britain.He had earlier been chopping mushrooms at homelessness charity The Passage in Victoria, London, before meeting the king.Standing outside the No. 10 door after becoming PM, he said, “I will soon go through that door behind me and issue my first instruction to end rough sleeping in our country”.