"True to the motto of this city, I am going to do things differently," Andy Burnham declared in Manchester, borrowing a line from the film 24 Hour Party People.
The Greater Manchester mayor's speech was a broadside against an unresponsive British state, which he said was "adept at arguing with itself, rather than achieving real change and rebuilding the country." Drawing on his time in Cabinet two decades ago, Burnham recalled wishing to build a northern equivalent to London's Crossrail, only to be told it would not pass the Treasury cost-benefit equation.
“Andy Burnham's Manchester speech promised a 'No 10 North' power shift but lacked detail on tax, spend and trade-offs.”
His diagnosis of economic malaise was rooted in those experiences, and his solutions were ambitious — but mostly general. He promised a "New No 10 North plan" to rebalance power from Westminster to regions and cities, as happens routinely in other advanced countries. Yet his speech, formally still part of a Labour leadership campaign, contained no detailed plan for tax, spend, investment, infrastructure, trade, AI or Europe.
Instead, Burnham sketched directions on business rates, housebuilding, technical education and infrastructure, delivered in an upbeat, optimistic tone. He confirmed he would stick to existing borrowing rules and backed the Milburn Review into young people's employment outcomes, which could yield welfare savings. Those two pledges, alongside devolution, industrial policy and what he called "quicker help on the cost of living," make up what aides described as a broad five-part plan.
But the gaps are gaping. How does keeping to the 2024 manifesto — which ruled out raising major taxes — square with the extra spending his changes would require? Devolution may mean diverting capital spending from the south east to northern powerhouse rail. In Europe, similar agendas rely on extra borrowing powers for regions. Can Burnham reconcile that with his own fiscal rules?
Many other questions remain unanswered, and with three weeks left in the leadership contest, they may not be. For now, Burnham has offered a different way of seeing the UK — but not yet a full economic plan.