Tory bid to tackle homelessness

Conservative leader David Cameron has called the plight of Britain's homeless a "disgrace".

He was speaking at the launch in London of the party's homelessness foundation, which will attempt to find ways to help the thousands of families without a permanent address.

The heads of all the major homeless charities have agreed to sit on the foundation's advisory panel, including Big Issue founder and editor John Bird and Shelter chief executive Adam Sampson.

Cameron said: "I think that is is simply a disgrace that in the fifth biggest economy in the world that we have people homeless, people sleeping on the streets, sofa-surfers, people in hospitals. I think it is a disgrace."

He said it was necessary to look at the root causes of homelessness, which include poverty, housing affordability, mental health, employment, children who slip through the net after leaving care and ex-military personnel struggling to fit into society.

He went on to say the party would "hopefully put things into practice straight away" in areas gained by the Tories in the recent local elections, including London.

"I want the Conservative Party to get back to its roots," he said.

"It should be as concerned with a good society as with a good economy, being a progressive party dealing with poverty and helping with disadvantage."