Andy Burnham’s speech at the People’s History Museum in Manchester was the first time we saw the man likely to be Britain’s next prime minister set out his vision for power.He promised “good growth in every postcode” in a speech that focused on a significant transfer of power out of Whitehall to local communities and a new economic vision. But what might this mean in practice?Devolution
double quotation markIt will be about offering new opportunities to extend devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland by taking power deeper down.
What else would be at the heart of Burnham’s plans other than devolution? Burnham leant on his experience as one of the most powerful regional mayors to say devolved power was nowhere near adequate.Britain is the most centralised G7 country for tax and spending policy, and is among the most economically unequal in the developed world.Key to changing this will be a new hub for No 10 in the north – based in Manchester, but with the remit to redistribute power across the regions. Rather than local areas applying to Whitehall to extend powers, sweeping new powers, including on tax, skills and industry, would be devolved by default.There was a nod to an idea, too, that Burnham has mooted in his book Head North: a German-style Basic Law – essentially a statutory right to equal living standards.Reform of Westminster and Whitehall
