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Or sign-in if you have an account.Labour MP and challenger for Leader of the Labour party, Andy Burnham, (R) makes a 'thumbs up' gesture as he leaves with Mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotherham, after delivering a speech in Manchester, northern England, on June 29, 2026. Photo by Toby Shepheard / AFP via Getty ImagesAndy Burnham pledged to radically devolve fiscal powers away from Westminster and deliver “good growth” in every part of the U.K. if he succeeds in his bid to replace Keir Starmer as prime minister.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorBritain is “stuck in a rut” with output held back by a “stark imbalance in resources between national government and local government,” he said on Monday. The leadership contender was speaking at the People’s History Museum in Manchester, where he spent nine years as mayor before returning to a seat in the House of Commons last week.He vowed to set up a branch of the prime minister’s office in the northern city, oversee the biggest housebuilding program since the postwar period and devolve more control over services such as water, energy and transport.SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE: FP West: Energy Insider brings you behind the oilpatch’s closed doors with exclusive insights from insiders every Wednesday morning.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of FP West: Energy Insider will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againBurnham said he would “support every region” to set credible industrial ambitions and come up with plans to achieve them, pledging a “laser-like” focus on growth.The prime ministerial hopeful remained tight-lipped about who he would tap to drive his mission, saying he wouldn’t announce his intended ministerial appointments until after his party’s leadership contest had ended. That could be the 17th July, should no one else obtain the backing of 81 Labour Members of Parliament that’s necessary to mount a challenge.Burnham built a brand as a Westminster outsider over his tenure in charge of Manchester. He said he would expand on his approach as mayor and promised to deliver “the biggest change in our lifetimes to the way the country is run,” with a new office for No. 10 Downing Street in the northern city acting as “the conduit through which we redistribute power and resources across the U.K.”In a warning to the London-based civil service, the days of Whitehall “fighting devolution,” he added, “are over.”In his speech, Burnham also:Vowed to maintain “sound public finances, adhering to the “discipline of our current fiscal rules”Reform business taxes to support pubs and high street businessesRedirect public procurement to favor British businesses rather than “chasing cut-price deals around the world”Build an education system “system based on parity between academic and technical” trainingStarmer said last Monday he was quitting, just hours before Burnham was sworn in to the Commons. With nominations for the new prime minister due to open July 9 and close a week later, Burnham is the only candidate to have so far indicated he’ll stand in the leadership contest — with a number of potential rivals backing away.The Manchester politician said his was a 10-year mission, in an echo of Starmer who promised “a decade of national renewal” before he succumbed to pressure to quit after just two years. Burnham was careful to contrast his language with that of his predecessor and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, who, after guiding Labour to a landslide general election win in July 2024, spent the early months of government talking about the dire state of the economy they had inherited.“People need a bit extra now to help with rising costs,” Burnham 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. People need to be able to look forward to a night out or a holiday with the kids. People need hope.”Among Burnham’s most important addressees were Labour Members of Parliament who are betting he can turn their electoral fortunes around after his decisive victory over Reform UK in the Makerfield by-election. Because of his long absence from Westminster politics, many haven’t worked alongside him.Labour’s newest MP said he would bring a more collaborative approach to government, vowing to reach out to other parties and attempt to stop squabbling between government departments. He also said he’d involve backbench Labour MPs more in developing policy, after Starmer suffered a series of rebellions that stymied his agenda.With just six per cent of taxes and 20 per cent of spending devolved sub-nationally, the U.K.’s public finances have been the most centralized in the G7 – and well below the OECD averages of 30 per cent and 38 per cent respectively. Burnham vowed to change that, saying that power currently is “held by an insufficiently accountable, outsourced state.”He also hinted at a more protectionist approach aimed at reviving the economic life of Britain’s former industrial centers, saying: “We need to safeguard sovereign manufacturing and production capability across the country in critical sectors like steel, defence, energy, food and farming.”He also promised “the biggest council house-building program since the postwar period,” in an echo of a policy mooted last year which had bond-market investors concerned that Burnham’s prime ministerial ambitions implied more borrowing. On Monday, he promised his plans would adhere to Reeves’ fiscal rules. A key ally of Burnham told Bloomberg last week he will seek to use “flexibility” within those rules to boost spending on infrastructure projects.Burnham also pledged “to reduce the welfare bill in a way that is fair and lasting,” in a sign he would task his chancellor with reining in a spending pressure that Starmer tried and failed to tackle. U.K. government bonds registered little reaction to the speech.“Overall, I think Burnham managed to deliver a decent speech, but I don’t think we are out of the woods re market moves,” said Evelyne Gomez-Liechti, strategist at Mizuho. “The question is now how and with whom he will be delivering this British Renaissance.”Harry Quilter-Pinner, executive director at the left-leaning Institute of Public Policy Research think-tank, said Burnham had been right to commit to the rules that constrain spending and borrowing.“But fiscal discipline should not be confused with a lack of ambition,” Quilter-Pinner said. “The real test now is delivery. This is an opportunity to reshape how Britain is governed and how the economy works, but it will require bold action from day one to turn today’s ambition into lasting change.”With assistance from Matt Bunny (Economist) Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.