Andy Burnham has delivered his first major speech since being re-elected to Westminster as he prepares to replace Keir Starmer as Prime Minister. The former mayor of Greater Manchester set out his economic blueprint for the country after declaring his candidacy for Labour leadership. He is widely expected to enter Downing Street in the coming weeks. Here are five key takeaways from the speech which show what a Burnham premiership could look like.
New powers for London
Mr Burnham said he wants to bring his brand of “Manchesterism” to the rest of the UK. Although he called London the greatest capital city in the world, he made clear that he wants to see power moved from Westminster to other parts of the country. He said the model was “a vision for good growth and a rejection of the old trickle down model”. This would involve increased devolution, including more powers for London “over education and housing”. It is not yet clear what form these new powers would take.
No 10 North
Another part of Mr Burnham’s devolution agenda is the creation of a “No 10 North”. This would see part of the Prime Minister’s office and associated civil servants moved to Manchester. He said the branch would be “the nerve centre of a rewired Britain”. The new office would focus on redistributing power and resources throughout the country. It will also oversee what Mr Burnham said would be the biggest programme of council house building since the post-war period.
Council housing
The ambitious housing scheme is intended to address what Mr Burnham called Britain’s “housing trap”. He argued the housing crisis is having a “ruinous” impact on public finances. As Prime Minister, Mr Burnham plans to give regions and cities more control over their housebuilding.
Fiscal rules
Mr Burnham said he would stick to the fiscal rules set out by the outgoing Sir Keir and his Chancellor Rachel Reeves. In an attempt to reassure the markets that he would not hike borrowing and taxes to pay for his plans, he promised his measures would be based on “the stability that comes from sound public finances” and “the discipline of our current fiscal rules”. But he acknowledged that taxpayer-funded support would be needed to deal with the cost-of-living pressures facing households. The fiscal rules used by the current Labour government constrain borrowing and spending and are intended to reassure the markets of economic stability. Today, Mr Burnham sought to put an end to speculation that he might scrap the rules.
Welfare bill
Another economic headache for the government has been the high cost of the UK’s welfare bill, something Mr Burnham said he would look to bring down. Although he did not outline cuts to specific benefits, he said he wanted to see the cost of welfare reduced in a “fair and lasting” way. He said this could be done by giving regional mayors more powers over employment support schemes and “in work” mental health support. While he did not set out specific plans on welfare, Mr Burnham seemed to suggest that its cost could be reduced through devolution rather than through cuts.
