# The Big Issue

> The Big Issue is a news source in the TOLD catalogue, based in United Kingdom. TOLD classifies its editorial position as **Lean left**.

- **Domain:** bigissue.com
- **Website:** https://www.bigissue.com
- **Country:** United Kingdom
- **Region:** Europe
- **Language:** English
- **Editorial position on TOLD:** Lean left
- **Founded:** 1991

## About

The Big Issue treats poverty as a beat rather than an occasional headline, sold on street corners by the people its journalism is about. Housing, homelessness, the benefits system and the cost of living fill its pages, put to politicians of every party as the same blunt question. Its founder sits as a crossbench peer, so the paper reads as a campaign with no candidate, a mission that keeps its distance from a party card.

## Profile

- **Ownership:** Published by The Big Issue Company under The Big Issue Group; founded by John Bird and Gordon Roddick
- **Funding:** Social enterprise: vendors buy copies and keep the margin, plus subscriptions, advertising and digital revenue
- **Focus areas:** Poverty, homelessness and housing, social justice, welfare and cost-of-living, plus culture and interviews


## What the position means

TOLD classifies what an outlet publishes over time, based on ownership, funding
and focus. It describes a pattern; it is not a rating of quality and not a
ranking. Nothing in TOLD sorts, hides or promotes a source by its position.
State-aligned and partisan outlets are in the catalogue on purpose, labelled.

## Latest headlines

Read from this source's RSS feed. Follow the link to the newsroom that published it.

- [I was homeless as a child. I know what Andy Burnham needs to do to end rough sleeping for good](https://www.bigissue.com/opinion/danny-beales-homelessness-andy-burnham/) — 2026-08-28T06:00:00.000Z

## Assessment note

Latest assessment: 2026-07-27. Generated with TOLD Source Prompt Brief v1.2.7. TOLD summarizes framing patterns and third-party classifications; it does not assess factual accuracy, intent, or legitimacy. External classifications: 6 (5 themes).

Corrections: report@told.news

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