Andy Burnham stood in the People's History Museum in Manchester, wearing a dark T-shirt and jacket, and promised to rewire Britain. The presumptive prime minister, who is set to enter Downing Street on July 20, used his first major speech to outline a vision built on the “biggest rebalancing of power we have ever seen” – a plan that would shift authority away from Westminster and into the hands of local leaders across the UK.
Burnham, who previously served as Greater Manchester mayor for nine years after twice failing to become Labour leader, is now the favourite to succeed Keir Starmer. His speech centred on what he called “Manchesterism”: using his approach in Greater Manchester as a blueprint for the whole country. The centrepiece is a new “No 10 North” – a Downing Street outpost based in Manchester that would take direct responsibility for delivering the biggest council housebuilding programme since the postwar period. Burnham also vowed to give new powers to locally elected leaders across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, describing this as “the biggest rebalancing of power” in political history.
“Andy Burnham's plan to devolve power and create No 10 North explained, with context on housing and governance.”
The background to Burnham’s push is a decade of political instability: he will become Britain’s seventh prime minister in ten years. His predecessor, Keir Starmer, resigned less than two years after winning a landslide election, partly because of deep-rooted structural problems that Burnham argues require a generation-long fix. In his 2024 book “Head North”, Burnham railed against Whitehall “bullying” of local government and the small group of unelected officials who, he claimed, run the country. His speech echoed that sentiment, accusing Westminster and Whitehall of being “set up for conflict” and requiring “radical change” to get the country back on track.
For UK readers, this matters because it could fundamentally change how public services are delivered in their area. If Burnham’s plans come to fruition, decisions on housing, infrastructure, utilities and welfare would increasingly be made by regional mayors and combined authorities, not by civil servants in London. That could mean faster, more locally tailored responses to problems like the housing crisis. But the details are still sparse: Burnham declined to take questions from the media, and aides are working frantically behind the scenes to put together a detailed programme. Formal “access talks” between his team and the civil service have begun, led by his chief of staff James Purnell and former minister Miatta Fahnbulleh.
Q: What is No 10 North? No 10 North is a proposed new prime ministerial office based in Manchester. Burnham said it would have specific responsibility for the “biggest council housebuilding programme since the postwar period”, raising questions about the role of existing ministries like Housing. It is intended to be the “nerve centre of a rewired Britain” and a symbol of decentralisation.
Q: How would devolution work under Burnham? Burnham promised to give new powers to locally elected leaders across the UK, including in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. He said this would bring about the “biggest rebalancing of power” in history, allowing regions to decide their own priorities on housing, infrastructure, utilities and welfare.
Q: Could Burnham’s council housebuilding pledge actually lead to fewer homes? Insiders have warned that his commitment to devote the entire £39bn affordable housing budget to council homes might not deliver as many houses as the current scheme. Without extra money, the shift in focus could reduce overall supply, though Burnham’s team argues it would “replenish” a council housing stock that has been in decline for decades.
What happens next? Burnham is expected to become prime minister on July 20 unless a rival emerges. Potential challenger Al Carns said he is waiting to hear more detail before deciding whether to stand, though he would need 81 Labour MP nominations. Burnham plans only a handful of big interventions before entering No 10, none of which will be heavy on detailed policy. Meanwhile, Harriet Harman has suggested Ed Miliband as chancellor, and Burnham is reportedly meeting MPs in London to build support. The key date remains July 20 – the day Britain could get its most radical change of government in a generation.