Andy Burnham bounded up the steps of the People's History Museum in Manchester, clad in a dark T-shirt and jacket — his “Manchester clothes” — and quipped “sorry Kemi,” a riposte to the Tory leader who had called him “a pair of eyelashes and a black T-shirt” at last week’s PMQs. It was the presumptive prime minister’s first major speech since becoming Labour’s leadership favourite, and he used it to sketch out a vision of “the biggest rebalancing of power we have ever seen”.
At the heart of that vision is “No 10 North”, a new prime ministerial office in Manchester with specific responsibility for what Burnham called the “biggest council housebuilding programme since the postwar period”. He promised to devolve significant powers away from Westminster to local leaders across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, describing it as the “biggest rebalancing of power” in political history. But for all the ambition, the speech — billed as economic — offered few details. Burnham declined to take questions from the media, and aides are working frantically behind the scenes to turn the broad strokes into a detailed programme, with former minister Miatta Fahnbulleh helping pull together policy ideas from think tanks and activists.
“Andy Burnham pledges 'biggest rebalancing of power' with new No 10 North but offers few details.”
The lack of detail has not gone unnoticed. Former defence minister Al Carns, who has not ruled out a leadership bid, told BBC Politics Midlands he wanted “really clear and concise outcomes” and said “a vision without a plan is a dream”. He said the speech would help him decide whether to challenge Burnham, though he would need the nominations of 81 Labour MPs to enter the contest. Meanwhile, Harriet Harman has publicly suggested that Ed Miliband should be Burnham’s chancellor, though Burnham’s speech gave no hint of his cabinet.
One of the most concrete pledges — a council-house building boom — has already sparked concern. Insiders have warned that Burnham’s plan to devote the entire £39bn affordable housing budget to council homes could deliver fewer homes than the current scheme. Burnham’s team said the proposals would “replenish” supply after “decline for more than four decades”, but questions remain over how the numbers would stack up.
Burnham, who tried and failed to become prime minister twice before, is now three weeks away from moving into Downing Street. After nine years away from Westminster as mayor of Greater Manchester, he is reintroducing himself to the public at lightning speed. But with a decade-long vision and little short-term detail, the question is whether his “Manchesterism” can win over a country that has already seen one Labour prime minister ousted in less than two years.