Andy Burnham plans to spend some of his working week in Manchester if he becomes prime minister, the BBC has been told, in a move that would make him the first Labour premier since Harold Wilson not to reside primarily in Downing Street. In his first speech since launching his Labour leadership bid, the former Greater Manchester mayor announced on Monday he would create a new "No 10 North" unit in Manchester to "oversee the biggest rebalancing of power our country has ever seen". Speaking at the People's History Museum to an audience that included his former mayoral colleagues Steve Rotheram, Tracy Brabin and Oliver Coppard, Burnham said the unit would be tasked with giving English regions more control over housing and transport, and transferring power from the Treasury to his new team. "The political direction I set will not be up for negotiation," Burnham said.
Burnham, who is so far the only Labour MP to announce a leadership bid, could become the next prime minister as early as 20 July if he remains the sole candidate. His allies hope his presence in Manchester would be a strong symbol of his commitment to devolve power away from Westminster. Past prime ministers including Sir Tony Blair and Gordon Brown spent some time away from London in their constituencies, but those around Burnham say his arrangements would be different to the norm. If Burnham chose not to make Downing Street his main home, he would be the first prime minister since Labour premier Harold Wilson not to reside primarily in the famous London building — Wilson lived at Lord North Street during his second term. The last prime minister not to live in Downing Street at all was Lord Salisbury at the end of the 19th century.
“Andy Burnham plans to create a 'No 10 North' unit in Manchester and split his working week between the city and London.”
In his speech, Burnham promised the biggest council house building programme since the post-war period, a "complete rethink" of education and cuts to welfare, but provided no detailed plan and did not take questions. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Burnham backed devolution because he "doesn't know what to do so he wants to pass the problem to someone else". But Steve Reed, the Communities Secretary, called the No 10 North idea a "great idea", and West Yorkshire mayor Tracy Brabin said Burnham's attitude was "exactly what we need". Former deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman also said his approach was "unusual but it should work".
Burnham argued that distributing power across the country would "give Britain the circuit-breaker it needs" and said "it is time for Whitehall to accept that growth cannot be ordered from the top down — it can only be nurtured from the bottom up". He suggested regions would see "greater public control of essential services" such as water, energy and transport, and that London could have more say over education and housing. He also noted that "the people of Dundee and Bangor feel just as distant from Holyrood and the Senedd as they do from Westminster". With no other Labour MPs yet declaring, some commentators have urged Burnham to call a snap election to capitalise on his honeymoon period. But for now, he remains the sole candidate — and the next prime minister in waiting.