Within weeks, Education Secretary Lucy Powell and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Louise Haigh will be among the senior ministers regularly working from No 10 North — Andy Burnham’s new Downing Street branch in Manchester, which the prime minister has declared the "dominant driver of the UK's economy".
The new outpost is currently operating from Heron House in Manchester city centre while a brownfield site is redeveloped. A blueprint by the think tank Re:State recommends a workforce of up to 300 staff within 18 months.
“Senior ministers plan regular work from No 10 North in Manchester, with up to 300 staff recommended within 18 months.”
Burnham aims to base himself there at least one day a week and is expected to start work from the site for the first time in the coming days. He will be joined by his closest adviser, Kevin Lee, the director of his mayoral office, who will move to No 10 North after next week's Greater Manchester mayoral election. Lee is one of at least seven Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) employees — including chief executive Caroline Simpson, who becomes Downing Street deputy chief of staff based at No 10 North, and directors John Wrathmell and Claire Norman — already moving in.
But the rapid expansion has unsettled some London-based civil servants. According to a senior civil servant familiar with the discussions, officials were summoned to calls in the weeks before Burnham became prime minister and told a significant programme to move staff out of London was being developed — and that those on leave would find plans already under way on their return.
Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA union representing senior civil servants, welcomed the structural changes but warned relocation was a big decision. "Those considering a move out of London have the added concern that a return would be difficult given the disparity in house prices," he said. A major factor, he added, would be "whether it feels like a permanent reorganisation or something that could change quickly with a future government".
Burnham has told cabinet members No 10 North is not a gimmick, in a bid to reassure critics and civil servants whose careers may be reshaped by the plan. Most details are expected in the weeks ahead — and the question hanging over the scheme is whether it can outlast its creator.