Westminster “is broken,” said Andy Burnham, as he laid out his policy plans in his first major speech since announcing his bid to replace Keir Starmer as Prime Minister.
If Burnham’s planned leadership bid remains unchallenged, he’s likely to become Britain’s next leader on July 20, and he already has big ideas for structural change.
Speaking from Manchester, where he served as mayor until he returned to Westminster last week, Burnham vowed to bring about the “biggest rebalancing of power our country has seen.”
Burnham presented his vision for a paradigm shift in British politics with devolution at the center of his plans for economic growth, public housing reform, industrial policy, and education.
“I am going to give Britain the circuit breaker it needs, by building a more collaborative politics in Westminster, by taking power out of the center and putting it in the hands of the people and places who can use it best,” he said. “The days of Whitehall fighting the devolution [of] power into the regions and nations are over for good.”
Named after 10 Downing Street, the official London residence and office of the Prime Minister, the additional base will be located in Manchester—a nod to Burnham’s efforts to decentralize power away from the capital.
“No. 10 North will be the nerve center of a rewired Britain,” he said. “It will be the conduit through which we redistribute power and resources across the U.K.”
Although headquartered in Manchester, Burnham said its purpose would be to empower regions across the North of England, from the Midlands to Yorkshire.
“It will co-ordinate all parts of government at national and local level to agree [on] a long-term economic strategy and help all places set new growth ambitions,” Burnham vowed.
He also pledged that every government department and agency would be required to “support strategic and local authorities with staffing and resources.”
Furthermore, Burnham comm
