Inside the Big Issue: Vendors and their dogs head to parliament

We meet Brighton vendor Andy Sanguy and Bath vendor Ian Duff in Parliament Square. The sun is just beginning to set, and we have to shield our eyes as we are introduced to their dogs.

Andy has brought along Lucky Charm, an almost two-year-old Staffie-Porto Mastiff cross. “She’s my partner in crime,” he says. They’ve been together for just over a year. “One of my friends was leaving the country, so I adopted her, and I’d be lost without her.”

Ian is accompanied by Trigger, a four-year-old Macedonian rescue who he’s had for three years. Trigger isn’t sure what to make of Lucky Charm – he can tolerate her presence for a few photos but is not keen to make friends.

They’re willing to put their differences aside, though, because they’ve joined their owners in London on a special mission: to assist Street Paws in persuading the government to end no-pet policies in temporary accommodation.

In this week’s issue, what happened when Big Issue vendors took their pups to parliament to campaign for an end to no-pet policies for people experiencing homelessness

What else is in this week’s Big Issue?

We interview the PM

We head to 10 Downing Street to quiz Keir Starmer on the Renters’ Rights Act. He starts by thanking us: “It’s a tribute to you, Big Issue, for what you’ve done to make this happen.”

On the front lines of the homeless health crisis

Homelessness cuts lives short by decades, yet efforts to treat it as a health problem often rely on lone mavericks and short-term cash. As the government plans to shake up the NHS, is now the time for change?

‘It’s important to be vigilant. And we have dropped the ball’

Russell T Davies and actors Alan Cumming and David Morrissey on Tip Toe – the furious new drama on Channel 4.

“You can’t take it for granted that you’re going to have legal proof that you exist. Imagine that,” says Cumming, discussing the state of equality in 2026.

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