“True to the motto of this city, I am going to do things differently,” Andy Burnham declared, referencing the film 24 Hour Party People. In a speech that depicted a radically different way of running the UK, the departing Greater Manchester mayor offered a diagnosis of economic malaise rooted in his own experiences running the city and in Cabinet. At its heart was a critique of an “unresponsive British state, adept at arguing with itself, rather than achieving real change and rebuilding the country.”
His solutions, ambitious but mostly general, would take power from the centre and give it to regions and cities – a system “as occurs routinely in other advanced countries.” Burnham recalled his time as chief secretary to the Treasury two decades ago, when he wished to build a northern equivalent to London’s Crossrail but was told it would not pass the Treasury’s cost-benefit equation.
“Andy Burnham's 'Manchesterism' speech set out a vision but lacked detail on economic trade-offs.”
Yet the speech was not a detailed economic plan, with assessments of appropriate levels of tax, spend, investment, infrastructure, or strategies for trade, AI and Europe. The BBC’s economics editor Faisal Islam noted that perhaps this is partly because Burnham is still officially on a Labour leadership campaign, “trying to keep as much powder dry as possible on the precise trade-offs, for as long as possible.”
There was general policy direction on business rates, housebuilding, technical education, and infrastructure. The tone was upbeat and optimistic. In two specific areas, Burnham appeared to signal fiscal prudence: he confirmed he would stick to existing borrowing rules, and backed the Milburn Review into young people’s employment outcomes, which could lead to welfare savings.
Those are two parts of a broad five-part plan, described to Islam. Devolution and industrial policy are two other legs. The remaining part was “quicker help on the cost of living.”
But questions remain. Some changes will require extra spending. Devolution of decision-making may also require diverting capital spending from the south-east to northern powerhouse rail. In Europe, such an agenda normally means extra borrowing powers for regions to invest in their infrastructure. Can that be squared with keeping to existing borrowing rules? And is Burnham fully backing tough policy choices on welfare?
Meanwhile, Downing Street’s Manchester base – the “Number 10 North” – is expected to focus on the UK’s long-term economic strategy, according to the Financial Times. The detail of how it would work, however, remains vague.