Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, is involved in a plan to reduce jobs in Whitehall and shift civil service functions to offices run by regional mayors, according to reports from Yahoo UK News and the Evening Standard. Both outlets describe the move as part of a wider devolution approach that reallocates responsibilities away from central government and toward city and regional leaders.
The Evening Standard quotes Burnham’s close ally, Cabinet minister Louise Haigh, who says the UK is moving away from “Westminster hoarding power.” The report frames the change as a “cull” of some Whitehall posts, with staff relocating to mayoral offices. Yahoo UK News presents the same broad action—civil servants being moved out of Whitehall roles—without emphasizing specific political commentary, focusing more directly on the staffing shift and its purpose.
Taken together, the sources agree that the government-linked devolution agenda includes reassigning civil servants to offices of regional mayors and reducing certain Whitehall positions, though they differ in how they highlight political messaging around the policy.
