See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy SOPHIE CHURCH - POLITICAL REPORTER and TOM LAWRENCE, NEWS REPORTER Published: 23:06 BST, 26 August 2026 | Updated: 02:18 BST, 27 August 2026
Andy Burnham's No10 North was last night branded a 'vanity project' after it emerged the taxpayer has stumped up tens of thousands of pounds to fit it out.In figures set to enrage hardworking Britons, the new PM has spent just under £49,000 of taxpayer money setting up his No10 North office in Manchester.Of this, nearly £1,000 has been spent on bringing a replica of the famous Downing St door to the headquarters.However, it was revealed that the famous 'entrance' will not even face the street.Instead, it will stand inside the Prime Minister's interim northern headquarters at Heron House, alongside a cardboard cut-out of Larry the cat.More than £10,000 was spent on physically branding the office and almost £2,000 on crockery. Mr Burnham's government also spent nearly £20,000 on IT infrastructure, nearly £9,000 on works to the office space, just over £6,000 on events equipment, lighting and flag poles and nearly £1,000 on moving 24 meeting chairs into the new digs.An order of 'sundries' from Amazon was listed as costing £971.86, five sign frames totalled £17.20 and works to the office space cost £8,000. A replica of the Downing Street Door at No10 North cost the taxpayer nearly £1,000 - and does not even face the street Andy Burnham speaks during an interview at Heron House in ManchesterThe former Manchester Mayor has previously been warned that tens of millions of pounds in taxpayers' money will need to be spent on security for No 10 North.But the Cabinet Office, which released the figures in response to a Freedom of Information request from website Reason, did not disclose staff costs, ministerial travel, security expenditure or ongoing operating costs for the scheme.And William Yarwood, campaigns director at the TaxPayers' Alliance said: 'Taxpayers will roll their eyes at ministers insisting this vanity project costs nothing because it comes from "existing budgets".'Branding offices, shipping replica doors and moving meeting chairs to Manchester is still public money, no matter which departmental pot it comes from.'No 10 North already looks like another gimmick dressed up as reform, and taxpayers should not be forced to fund the government's political stage sets.'This comes as The Mail on Sunday revealed Mr Burnham's top civil servant running No 10 North is spending roughly £800 commuting to Manchester each week while he remains living in a £2.2million townhouse in London.Mr Burnham is expected to work at No 10 North, set up in Heron House, every week.A government spokesperson said: 'No 10 North will drive growth in every postcode of the country, for example by working with Mayors and local government to spend more of the money raised in their areas.'The costs for setting up and running No 10 North are covered by existing Cabinet Office budgets, with no additional cost to the taxpayer.'
