Andy Burnham has become the first Prime Minister to move away from Whitehall and work from No10 North. The PM said Whitehall resistance to devolution is “over for good” ahead of his first meeting at the new No 10 North branch in Manchester.
He is expected to work from the site once each week during his premiership. Mr Burnham will chair a meeting of the National Economic Council, a Cabinet committee first launched in 2008 to respond to economic challenges.
Details of No10 North
The panel’s attendees will vary according to No 10 North meeting agendas and could include business leaders and trade unions, the Government said. No 10 North is housed at Heron House, near Manchester’s Albert Square, a building which is also home to GCHQ’s Manchester and North West hub.
“For 40 years, power and resources have been sucked into the centre, and too many communities have felt forgotten, without the attention and investment they deserve,” he said.
“No 10 North will change that by putting more power into every postcode across the entire country.
“It will be the situation room for making Britain better – the place we use to get power out of Westminster, into the hands of people at a local level, so that they can turn things around.
“The days of Whitehall resisting devolution are over, for good.”
Response to regional concerns
Mr Burnham, the former Greater Manchester mayor, is expected to speak to business leaders ahead of his first No 10 North meeting. The Prime Minister has faced questions about whether his focus on the North would draw attention away from other regions, such as the East of England.
Speaking in Harlow, Essex, he said: “The whole purpose of No 10 North is to put more power into every postcode in the land, including the postcodes of Harlow.
“I see the same challenges up and down the country.
“There’s a lot of communities that feel a little bit forgotten, that don’t get the attention and the investment they deserve.
“And those communities can be found as much in the East of England and the South West as they can be found in the North of England.”
First Secretary of State Louise Haigh said: “Today marks a fundamental re-balancing of where power sits in our country.
“No 10 North has been set up to drive economic growth in every postcode and put power in the hands of every community.
“Through this department, this Government will ensure that the places overlooked by Westminster for decades are given a real voice. No.10 North is open for business.”
