Andy Burnham launched the new No 10 North in Manchester on Friday, flanked by Chancellor John Healey and a raft of senior ministers, vowing the office would bring "growth in every corner of the country". But as the prime minister celebrated the northern branch of Downing Street, attention was also fixed on his wife, Marie-France van Heel, after she appeared at No 10 in a lilac Victoria Beckham gown that cost £890 — drawing criticism over its expense during a cost-of-living crisis.
Van Heel, who goes by Frankie, has been married to Burnham for 25 years and has three grown-up children. The Dutch-born marketing executive met the future PM at Cambridge University, where she was considered the "coolest girl in college". She once appeared on the television show Blind Date while already dating Burnham, hoping to boost her career. Choosing "Will from Surrey", she threw a cushion at him after he called her "a cold fish". Will later became the Conservative Party's marketing director.
“Andy Burnham opens No 10 North in Manchester as wife Frankie's £890 dress and background draw scrutiny.”
Her professional career includes stints at BSkyB, running her own agency MVH Marketing, and serving as chief strategy officer at London-based agency Heavenly, where she worked on campaigns for England Rugby, the BBC and HSBC. She has faced media scrutiny before: in 2009, tabloids criticised an outfit she wore at the unveiling of a sculpture of the Queen Mother, and she was involved in a dispute over Burnham's parliamentary expenses claims for a south London flat, faxing detailed notes to officials after Burnham told the fees office his wife would divorce him if he wasn't reimbursed. On a personal level, she lost her sister to breast cancer and, carrying the BRCA1 gene mutation, opted for a pre-emptive double mastectomy.
At the No 10 North launch, Burnham told assembled civil servants: "It's not just a new office — through this place power is going to flow, energy is going to flow, new ideas are going to come through." He insisted the move would not be short-lived, arguing it would balance the "South Pole" of the country. "What does it cost for everybody to troop down to London every time there's a meeting?" he asked. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch dismissed the initiative as a "gimmick", saying it "does not make decision-making any better".
Other ministers meeting at the Manchester hub 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, a former mayor of Greater Manchester, said the office would serve every region of the UK, not just the north-west.