Andy Burnham has pledged to push power away from Westminster and towards the nations and regions — a promise that sounds like music to Scottish ears, but one that comes with a stark warning. The Labour mayor of Greater Manchester, an avowed champion of devolution, faces a delicate balancing act: how to collaborate with Scottish first minister John Swinney without being drawn into the SNP's political orbit.
Burnham's commitment, reported by Channel 4 News, was deliberately broad, offering no detail on which powers would be transferred or how the process would work. But the ambition is clear: a shift in the gravitational centre of UK politics, away from London and towards Edinburgh, Cardiff, and the English regions. For Scotland, where the SNP has long argued that Westminster hoards authority, such language is cautiously welcome.
“Andy Burnham promises greater devolution while being warned not to see SNP as ally.”
Yet the path to cooperation is strewn with traps. Writing in The Scotsman, columnist Ian Johnston warned Burnham to beware of five SNP tactics, cautioning him to "resist any temptation to regard the SNP as a left-wing ally." The advice is pointed: the SNP, despite sharing progressive rhetoric, is first and foremost a nationalist party with its own strategic interests. Burnham, who has built his reputation on cross-party working, may find that goodwill alone is not enough.
The question now is how the two leaders will negotiate. Swinney, newly installed as SNP leader, faces his own pressures — a divided party and a restless independence movement. For Burnham, any deal that appears to hand concessions to the SNP risks alienating Labour colleagues in Westminster, who are wary of fuelling nationalist demands. The coming weeks will test whether the rhetoric of devolution can be turned into a practical alliance, or whether the SNP's tactics will leave Burnham's promises stranded.