Expected Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced he will split his time running the country between the North and Downing Street, keeping his family home near Wigan rather than moving into Number 10 permanently. In a speech in Manchester, where he recently quit as mayor to become an MP, Burnham proposed a 'No 10 North' in the city as 'the nerve centre of a rewired Britain'.
Burnham's Plan for a 'No 10 North'
Burnham, who refused to take questions from the press after his speech on Monday, is expected to spend a day or two a week in the North West as his schedule allows. The 56-year-old plans to use Number 10 only when working in the capital, according to reports. He said the new department would be 'the conduit through which we redistribute power and resources across the UK'.
One friend of Burnham told The Mail: 'He will not be using No 10 as his main home, he'll be staying in Golborne. He said if he was elected prime minister, he wouldn't forget where he was from, and he meant it.' Another ally added: 'This isn't just part of a political strategy. It's who Andy Burnham is. He isn't just from the North, he's of the North. It made him.'
Burnham's Left-Wing Manifesto
Burnham is expected to undergo his Labour coronation as Prime Minister in July. In his first major speech since Sir Keir Starmer announced he would leave Downing Street, Burnham pledged to pull people together in the 'broadest possible coalition' to revive hope across the country. He said: 'Westminster has not been working for people and it has not been working for a very long time. In fact, it is broken. And as a result, the country isn't where it should be. It is stuck in a rut, and clearly we can't go on like this.'
Drawing inspiration from Germany, Burnham said No 10 North would be 'given a mission to strive for equivalent living conditions in all parts of Britain'. The department would have three clear tasks: increasing public ownership of essential utilities such as water, energy and housing; reindustrialisation; and regeneration.
Conservative Criticism
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch warned that the UK faces a 'summer of chaos' while Burnham works out his plans. Speaking in London, Badenoch said the economy was 'in limbo' as businesses wait to see what Burnham will do. She criticised Burnham's potential promotion of Energy Secretary Ed Miliband to chancellor, claiming business chiefs were 'terrified' of him. Badenoch said: 'People are worried about capital gains tax, so they are changing their investment decisions. The car industry is in limbo again because they do not know when petrol cars will be phased out. Everyone is terrified about what will happen if Ed Miliband becomes the chancellor. The same is true in every sector of the economy. Britain is facing a summer of chaos.'
