Andy Burnham plans to spend some of his working week in Manchester if he becomes prime minister, the BBC has been told. The former mayor of Greater Manchester would create a new “No 10 North” unit in the city to oversee what he called “the biggest rebalancing of power our country has ever seen”. His allies hope his presence in the city would be a strong symbol of his commitment to devolve power away from Westminster.
Burnham, who announced his leadership bid last Monday shortly after being elected as the MP for Makerfield, is so far the only Labour MP to stand. If he remains the sole candidate, he could become the next prime minister as early as 20 July. 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 become the first prime minister since Harold Wilson not to reside primarily in the famous London building. Wilson lived in No 10 during his first term but opted to live at Lord North Street during his second premiership between 1974 and 1976. 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 split his working week between Manchester and Downing Street if he becomes PM.”
In his speech on Monday outlining a broader vision, Burnham said the No 10 North unit would be tasked with giving English regions more control in several areas, including housing and transport. He indicated that key economic decisions would be devolved to local communities away from senior civil servants in Whitehall, transferring power from the Treasury to his new team. “The political direction I set will not be up for negotiation,” Burnham said. The former deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman described Burnham’s approach as “unusual but it should work”.
As Burnham sets out his plans for a new style of government, the UK is bracing for another heatwave. The next summer heatwave could sink its teeth into London for 10 consecutive days, starting this weekend. Temperatures will heat up from Saturday, quickly rising to 28C or 29C. Tony Wisson, Met Office deputy chief forecaster, said: “Toward the weekend, high pressure will continue to build in across most of the UK as it extends from the Azores. This will lead to more settled, warm or very warm conditions for many, especially across England and Wales.” He added: “The forecast for this weekend suggests that temperatures could approach high twenties across parts of England, perhaps 30C in parts of the southeast, with values of mid- to high-twenties in Wales.” Temperatures look set to hit 31C by 4pm on Monday, with BBC Weather suggesting highs between 28 and 32C that will last for 10 days from Saturday. The UK has already endured two heatwaves this year and smashed the record for the hottest spring ever and the hottest June on record, with temperatures peaking at 37.3C in Santon Downham, Suffolk. Wisson said: “Although a return to heatwave conditions is looking increasingly likely for some areas, the likelihood of such extreme high temperatures or high levels of humidity as last week is currently low.”