Esther McVey, a proud northerner, has condemned Andy Burnham's Number 10 North scheme as an expensive gimmick and an abuse of public money. She argues that moving civil servants from London to Manchester does not make government decision-making more northern, and that the scheme is being used to boost the Prime Minister's re-election prospects.
A dangerous precedent
McVey questions how the Civil Service allowed this to happen, warning that it could set a precedent for future prime ministers to set up regional Number 10 offices, such as a Number 10 Essex under Kemi Badenoch or Nigel Farage. She states that Number 10 is in London near Parliament for good reason.
Other remarks in the column
The article also mentions a by-election for the Manchester mayoralty to replace Burnham, a criticism of the scheme being a flagship policy using taxpayers' money, and comments on other topics including a holiday nightmare on a Ryanair flight, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting's threat to resign if defence funding is not found, the 100th anniversary of greyhound racing, and actress Denise Welsh.
