I spend my life travelling around the UK; taking power away from Westminster is not straightforward.
Andy Burnham’s story about Britain – about what has gone wrong and what needs to change – is a compelling narrative which posits the idea that more devolution, more power moved away from London and towards the regions, will lead to better economic and social outcomes for the country and people who live in it.
It will start with No 10 North based in Manchester, but he promises to extend far beyond, north to Aberdeen and south towards Port Talbot.
I was in Aberdeen last week, speaking to local people as they grapple with the decline of their biggest industry: oil and gas. Closer to Norway than it is to London, Scotland’s third largest city, with a population of around 230,000, feels as far removed from Westminster as it’s possible to be. But it doesn’t feel particularly close to Manchester either.
Can transferring more political and economic power here help?
