Andy Burnham has announced plans to establish a prime minister’s office in Manchester if he becomes Prime Minister, describing it as the “nerve centre of a rewired Britain” designed to redistribute power and resources across the entire country rather than simply the North.
The Labour leadership frontrunner confirmed that a “No 10 North” would be based in Manchester but stressed its purpose would extend far beyond the region. “It will only be based here,” Burnham said, “but its job would be to make power flow into the Midlands, into the South West, into the East of England and yes, into London — as much as into the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber.”
Burnham set out three core tasks for the new office: the reform of essential utilities, reindustrialisation, and the regeneration of places. “This No 10 North will be the nerve centre of a rewired Britain,” he said. “It will be the conduit through which we redistribute power and resources across the UK. It will co-ordinate all parts of government at national and local level, to agree a long-term economic strategy and help all places set new growth ambitions. It will be given a mission to strive for equivalent living conditions in all parts of Britain.”
He added that the office would also look to extend the devolution settlement further, “offering new opportunities to extend devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland by taking power deeper down.”
The announcement represents one of Burnham’s most ambitious policy commitments yet since entering the Labour leadership race following Sir Keir Starmer’s resignation, and marks a significant constitutional departure from the traditional concentration of government power in Westminster and Whitehall.
