Andy Burnham, the prime minister-in-waiting, has announced plans to set up a 'No 10 North' office in Manchester as the 'nerve centre of a rewired Britain' to oversee a sweeping devolution of power and resources across the UK. In his first major speech since Keir Starmer announced he was standing down, Burnham told an audience at the People's History Museum in Manchester that the Westminster system was 'broken' and that a 'more of the same' approach would neither improve living standards nor restore people's faith in how politics worked for them.
The new Makerfield MP, dressed in a dark T-shirt and jacket rather than the usual politician's uniform of a suit and tie, is expected to become prime minister on 20 July, unless he is challenged for the Labour leadership. His promise of a 'new direction' is at the heart of his offer to the country. 'What hope can we have that it will be different this time? That is the question I would be asking if I was a voter right now,' he said. 'Westminster has not been working for people and it has not been working for a very long time. In fact, it is broken.'
Three Clear Tasks for Devolution
Burnham said No 10 North would have three 'clear tasks' for devolution: to increase public ownership of essential utilities such as water, energy and housing; reindustrialise swathes of the country; and regenerate towns, prioritising places that had been left behind. This would include overseeing the biggest council housebuilding programme since the postwar period, as well as ordering Whitehall to back British firms bidding for public contracts — even if this cost taxpayers more.
The change would be the biggest change in our lifetimes to the way the country is run, Burnham said, and is consistent with the 2024 Labour manifesto. 'We will create a more streamlined state with a clearer purpose to power up all parts of the country and put a laser-like focus on growth and regeneration — good growth,' he said. 'The job of No 10 North will be to make power flow into the Midlands, into the South West, into the East of England and yes, into London.'
Reactions from Across the Political Spectrum
The speech drew a mixed response from across the political spectrum. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Burnham backed devolution because he 'doesn't know what to do so he wants to pass the problem to someone else.' However, thinktanks broadly welcomed the proposals. The Fabian Society's deputy general secretary, Luke Raikes, said centralisation is the root cause of the growth failures in the north and the housing failures in the south, adding that the answer to both problems is devolution.
The left-leaning IPPR also praised the speech, with executive director Harry Quilter-Pinner stating: 'Andy Burnham is right to put rebalancing Britain at the heart of his agenda. The UK's concentration of power and opportunity in Westminster has held back growth, productivity and living standards for too long.' The LGIU's chief executive, Jonathan Carr-West, described the speech as 'the most ambitious statement on devolution we have seen from a senior politician in a generation.'
Burnham also hinted at an early cost of living support package once he made it to Downing Street. 'I heard on doorsteps in Makerfield how people need a bit extra now to help with rising costs,' he said. 'I will do my very best to deliver it, and whilst not taking risks with the public finances, will seek to give Britain some breathing space as soon as I can.'
