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This morning Andy Burnham has set out his devolution agenda for government. At the People’s History Museum in Manchester, the new MP for Makerfield promised the ‘biggest change in our lifetimes to the way the country is run’, with mayors and local authorities empowered instead. A new ‘No. 10 North’ will be set up to oversee the transfer of powers and resources from a ‘broken’ Westminster. ‘The days of Whitehall fighting with devolution power into the regions and nations are over for good’, he said. ‘We will bring about the biggest rebalancing of power our country has seen.’
In a wide-ranging speech, Burnham argued that the current set-up is penalising not just the north but the whole of the UK. He believes that spreading the tools of office will enable all the country to grow, boosting Britain’s economic performance. Drawing on his time as the mayor of Greater Manchester, he called for ‘public intervention where necessary’ to kick-start growth, arguing that everything cannot just be left to the markets. ‘This is Manchesterism,’ he said, a shining beacon, he suggested, against the ‘ten years of political turbulence since Brexit’ and ‘20 years of falling living standards’ since the 2008 crash – a rehash of his pitch on the Makerfield campaign trail.
