Andy Burnham launched No 10 North in Manchester on Friday, declaring the new branch of Downing Street would deliver “growth in every corner of the country” – but as the prime minister spoke, attention in some quarters was fixed on the £890 lilac Victoria Beckham gown worn by his wife, Marie-France van Heel. Critics pointed to the cost at a time of rising living costs, the latest instance of personal scrutiny for a spouse who has previously faced tabloid disapproval over her fashion choices.
Burnham, flanked by his new Chancellor John Healey, told assembled civil servants that the northern office would shift power from Whitehall and Westminster to the regions. “No 10 North is going to take that up to the next level,” he said, adding that “through this place power is going to flow, energy is going to flow, new ideas are going to come through.”
“Burnham launches No 10 North in Manchester while his wife's £890 dress draws cost-of-living criticism.”
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch dismissed the initiative as a “gimmick” that “does not make decision-making any better, it’s just creating another branch of the civil service in a different place.”
Other ministers meeting at the Manchester hub on Friday included Housing Secretary Angela Rayner, Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, Health Secretary Yvette Cooper, Environment Secretary Angela Eagle, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander and Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh. Burnham insisted the move was not short-lived, arguing it would benefit every region and nation, not just north-west England.
The personal spotlight also fell on van Heel, a Dutch-born marketing executive who met Burnham while studying at Cambridge. The couple have been married for 25 years and have three children. She once appeared on the television show Blind Date while already dating Burnham, hoping to boost her marketing career. Her professional career includes roles at BSkyB, running her own agency MVH Marketing, and serving as chief strategy officer at Heavenly, working on campaigns for England Rugby, the BBC and HSBC.
Van Heel has experienced press interest before: in 2009 her outfit at the unveiling of a sculpture of the Queen Mother drew criticism, and she was involved in a dispute over her husband’s parliamentary expenses claims for refurbishments of a south London flat. The Telegraph reported that van Heel “took up the baton, faxing detailed notes ‘on behalf of Andy Burnham MP’ to parliamentary officials, asking them to approve expenses they had previously rejected.” On a personal level, she lost her sister to breast cancer, carries the BRCA1 gene mutation and opted for a pre-emptive double mastectomy.
Burnham, speaking at the launch, said No 10 North sent “a very powerful message … that the political commitment is there.”
