Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s recruitment drive for Number 10 North has reached into Greater Manchester Combined Authority, with several familiar faces from his time as mayor joining the new government outpost in Manchester.
Caroline Simpson, the former GMCA group chief executive, has already moved to Heron House without working a notice period. Policy strategist John Wrathmell is joining as a civil servant, and Tom Whitney, Burnham’s policy adviser during much of his mayoralty, is moving between the Manchester and London Number 10s. Reports claim Kate Groucutt, a former deputy leader of St Helens Council, is joining as a special adviser. GMCA’s director of communications and engagement, Claire Norman, and JP Spencer, a former GMCA and Treasury staffer, are also understood to have crossed over. Haydn Monroe, a New Zealander who worked as campaign director for Jacinda Ardern, has been appointed as a policy adviser.
GMCA staff 'jumping ship'
One source told the M.E.N: "A lot of people are jumping ship. The difference is Caroline Simpson just quit whereas the rest are officially on 'secondment' to No 10 North to help it get off the ground. Though in reality that's just a formality and I imagine in six months time they'll be offered full-time positions. It doesn't leave the GMCA in a great place. If I was the incoming mayor I'd be very annoyed with Andy."
The source said the secondment status is little more than a formality, and predicted full-time offers within months. Number 10 North has been described as the newest top tier of a "food chain" that previously saw the combined authority regularly taking the best officers from local authorities, and further reshuffling is expected as the outpost beds in.
'A hollowed out institution'
Another source described disquiet among staff: "It's disconcerting for a lot of people because there's a lot of senior people going. There are people who know they have jobs, who are very smug. There are people who want the jobs and are hawking their wares as it were. And there are people who weren't that close to Andy and know they won't get a job, and are being left in a hollowed out institution. There's a fear that No 10 North becomes a shadow Combined Authority because it's got the purse strings. The stuff Burnham wants to do like tackling rough sleeping, building council housing, those are things the CA are already working on. They'll be stepping on a lot of toes, and there's a danger they'll be looming over the CA from just around the corner."
It is not yet known how many people will be based at Number 10 North, which is temporarily housed at Heron House in Manchester city centre. Government job adverts based in "Manchester and London" include social and video roles for the new Government Media Unit, which says it aims to "reach, connect and rebuild trust with UK citizens in the most effective way possible". One role offers a salary of up to £68,558.
'This changes everything'
Henri Murison, chief executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said the move is not a new idea, but its impact will be huge. "This changes everything. Whether people have come from GMCA or other places I think it’s really healthy these people are coming into government," he said. "We have a large number of talented people who have chosen to work in public service and without moving to London have never been able to move up. There has been a glass ceiling."
Asked whether GMCA is losing good staff, Murison said: "If this is a problem, it’s a problem you want to have that will give you the best people. It’s brilliant for the whole ecosystem." Another source suggested a run on senior staff is not a concern, as the new mayor may want to "plough their own furrow" and reshape the still-young authority. A former GMCA staffer said: "Andy is hiring very well," adding that those chosen are "good people that he knows and trusts."
Comparison to MediaCity and Darlington
Number 10 North is not the first government base placed near a prime minister’s constituency: Rishi Sunak moved hundreds of civil servants to the Darlington Economic Campus. But several people compare Burnham’s outpost to the BBC’s move to MediaCity two decades ago, a project overseen by James Purnell, now the prime minister’s chief of staff. "James Purnell strikes again," said one thinktanker. "Look at MediaCity now. Even the Today programme has a studio here. My view is this is equivalent in scale and impact to the BBC move. And that was James Purnell too. Just as the government has been talking about senior leaders being in Greater Manchester, the BBC found having senior people in Salford really important for it to work. The BBC has been on exactly the same journey."
The thinktanker added that taking over a floor of Heron House is "the natural conclusion of having moved the civil service out of Whitehall - to move ministers up here." Another former GMCA staffer put it simply: "It’s power in a different postcode."
GMCA confirms interim leadership
A GMCA spokesperson said: "Caroline Simpson has resigned from her role as Group Chief Executive and left Greater Manchester Combined Authority. She had already stepped back from her role as Combined Authority Returning Officer and formally handed over all election responsibilities. Deputy Group Chief Executive Andrew Lightfoot, the Managing Director of GMCA, has taken on interim leadership. This includes Combined Authority Returning Officer duties for the Mayoral by-election. Arrangements are in place to ensure the continued smooth running of GMCA, as well as Transport for Greater Manchester and Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service under their current leadership."
