Andy Burnham launched his northern branch of Downing Street in Manchester on Friday, declaring it would bring “growth in every corner of the country” – but the prime minister’s wife was already facing a different kind of scrutiny over an £890 lilac Victoria Beckham gown.
With Chancellor John Healey standing behind him, Burnham told assembled civil servants that No 10 North was “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.” The move is part of his aim to shift power from Whitehall and Westminster to the regions, he said, adding: “No 10 North is going to take that up to the next level.”
“PM Burnham opens No 10 North as wife’s £890 dress and expenses faxes draw scrutiny.”
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch dismissed the venture as a “gimmick”, arguing it “does not make decision-making any better, it’s just creating another branch of the civil service in a different place.” Burnham, a former mayor of Greater Manchester, acknowledged that past negotiations with London had felt “like an argument with people in the centre of government” but insisted the new office was not short-lived and would serve every region and nation.
His audience 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.
But beyond the podium, attention has turned to Marie-France van Heel, Burnham’s wife of 25 years. On the day he became prime minister, her choice of wardrobe – a £890 lilac Victoria Beckham dress – drew immediate comment, with friends criticising both the fit and the cost amid a cost-of-living crisis. The Dutch-born marketing executive, who met Burnham at Cambridge, has a professional background that includes roles at BSkyB, her own agency MVH Marketing, and a chief strategy officer position at Heavenly, where she worked on campaigns for England Rugby, the BBC, and HSBC.
Van Heel is no stranger to controversy. In 2009, tabloids criticised an outfit she wore at the unveiling of a sculpture of the Queen Mother. More seriously, she was involved in a dispute over her husband’s parliamentary expenses claims for refurbishing a south London flat. According to the Telegraph, she “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.” Burnham had earlier told the Parliamentary Fees office that his wife would divorce him if he wasn’t reimbursed.
On a personal level, van Heel lost her sister to breast cancer and, carrying the BRCA1 gene mutation, opted for a pre-emptive double mastectomy. Her low profile – typical of political spouses since Cherie Blair – now faces fresh examination as her husband’s government seeks to reshape Westminster from Manchester.