Andy Burnham has capped his opening two weeks in office by addressing the English question, unveiling plans for greater fiscal devolution to England's mayoral authorities. These plans are part of the primary raison d'être of his government: rebalancing power and resources, which have been skewed towards London and the south-east. The creation of No 10 North in Manchester symbolises this ambition.
Challenges Beyond England
Beyond England's borders, the picture is less clear. May's elections in Scotland and particularly Wales were a disaster for Labour and Burnham's predecessor, Sir Keir Starmer. Progressive nationalist parties now rule in each of the devolved nations. How Burnham engages with them will test his commitment to compromise and consensus-building.
Early meetings with John Swinney and Rhun ap Iorwerth, the Scottish and Welsh first ministers, have been reported as positive by both sides. But the challenge is to combine a conviction that power should be devolved as locally as possible with respect for the status and prerogatives of different national administrations. Burnham has argued that “the people of Dundee and Bangor feel just as distant from Holyrood and the Senedd as they do from Westminster”, but Westminster should not bypass the devolved administrations in solving the problem.
Previous Approaches and Anomalies
Sir Keir at times adopted a different approach, warning ministers against being “overly deferential” to the Scottish and Welsh governments, which did little for Labour's popularity. Wales has a population roughly the same size as Greater Manchester, yet the Welsh government does not have the powers the mayoral authority does over policing. If Burnham is to be consistent in his devolutionary logic, such anomalies should be addressed.
Inevitably, there will be frustrations and disagreements, not least over calls for the Barnett formula funding arrangements to be updated. The Scottish National party, Plaid Cymru and Sinn Féin will all have a powerful motive for taking credit for what goes right and blaming Burnham's government when things go wrong. Matters in Wales are further complicated by the minority status of the Plaid government, which Welsh Labour has refused to support and which has yet to pass a budget.
A Confidence-Building Move
Burnham's direction of travel can be the right one for the devolved nations as well as the English regions. A confidence-building early move would be to repeal contentious powers granted by the post-Brexit United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020, which allow London to distribute funds across the UK in various policy areas. As the Institute for Government has suggested, Burnham could instead fund the devolved governments to establish their own priorities.
Devolution was at the heart of Burnham's rise to Britain's highest political office. His first moves have reflected the regional backdrop to that ascent, but he should also follow his instincts in the rest of the United Kingdom.
