Andy Burnham outlines No 10 North plans and cost-of-living measures

The prime minister has unveiled his plans for English devolution. The picture in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is much less clear After early statements of intent on homelessness and social care, Andy Burnham capped his opening two weeks in office by addressing what one might call the English question. Plans for greater fiscal devolution to England’s mayoral authorities, unveiled last week, are part of what is perhaps the primary raison d’etre of Mr Burnham’s government: the need to rebalance power and resources, in a country where they have been skewed disproportionately towards London and the south-east. As the designated administrative hub of that political project, the creation of No 10 North in Manchester symbolises the ambition.Beyond England’s borders, however, the picture is much less clear. May’s elections in Scotland and particularly Wales were a disaster for Labour and Mr Burnham’s predecessor, Sir Keir Starmer. Progressive nationalist parties now rule in each of the devolved nations. How the prime minister chooses to engage with them will be a test of the kind of politics of compromise and consensus-building he has said he is committed to.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Britain's Prime Minister Andy Burnham during a visit to a family center in Sheffield, England, Friday, July 31, 2026.Andy Burnham has claimed his devolution plans strengthen his case for a written constitution for the UK.The prime minister said the UK’s “antiquated” political system needs reform if equal opportunities are to be effectively shared out across the country.Britain is one of the only major democracies without a codified arrangement which lays out how the country should be governed.The UK’s constitution is currently established through history by common law, statutes and conventions.Burnham has already decided to allow regional mayors to keep a proportion of income tax to spend on their local area by early 2028.He has also set up No.10 North, an alternative to 10 Downing Street in the north of England, to symbolise his commitment to moving power out of Westminster.He said his devolution plans “increase the case for a constitution because Britain is changing through this, England is certainly changing through this.”He claimed the country needs to set up a codified model of devolution which works for Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England.“In the end, I think it does start to point towards a new constitutional settlement... with that commitment to equivalent living standards,” he said.He added that his promise to implement “good growth in every postcode” was “more than just a sound bite”.The prime minister did not outline any time frame for implementing such a historic change.Countries usually adopt a written constitution following major events like revolution or war, when governments need to signal a departure from previous regimes.The prime minister first floated the idea in his 2024 book Head North, co-written with Liverpool city region mayor Steve Rotherham.He said deep inequality had become part of Britain because it had not moved on from the “feudal state” which held power in Westminster.“Our failure fully to set out the rules for how the country should be run is one of the principal reasons why Britain is one of the most unequal major countries in the world,” he wrote.“Our unwritten and murky constitutional arrangements have had the effect of hoarding power in a small number of hands – in Whitehall and Westminster and, by extension, in the powerful networks of institutions and vested interests that surround them.”.Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.Related...Burnham Vows Cost of Living Help Is 'On Its Way' As He Looks At Tackling Utility Bills And Rail FaresLabour Wins Greater Manchester Mayoral By-Election In Burnham's First Electoral Test As PMWhy The PM Must Be Wary His 'Burnham Bounce' Does Not Turn Into A Boomerang

The much-vaunted “Manchesterism” of our new Prime Minister is starting to take its national shape, with his early policy pledges and the appointment of his Cabinet. It’s a relentless focus on the cost of living – cuts to VAT on energy bills and a £2 cap on bus fares – paired with a jaunty wardrobe […]

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham was to open his newly created northern office on Friday, as he bids to launch his flagship move to reverse decades of centralising power over England in London. Ahead of officially opening his “Number 10 North” hub in Manchester, Burnham – who replaced Keir Starmer in 10 Downing Street on Monday – repeated his vow to put “more power into every postcode” to spur economic growth. “For 40 years, power and resources have been sucked into the centre, and too many...

PM will chair the inaugural meeting of the national economic council that will aim to shift economic decision-making away ‌from LondonThe housing secretary, Angela Rayner, has said the new Andy Burnham administration is on “borrowed time” to turn the country around.Appearing on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Rayner said the flurry of announcements made by the new prime minister – cap on bus fares, VAT cut on electricity bills and support for pubs and clubs – showed he understood the frustration over the cost of living. Continue reading...

Burnham says ‘no one in government loses when power is shared’ as he revives Brown-era national economic councilIt’s not just a No 10 in the north, it’s an engine for growth throughout the whole UK | Andy BurnhamRegional mayors are to be given a leading role in the UK’s economic policy, Andy Burnham has said, as he called the opening of No 10 North “the biggest rebalancing of power our country has seen”.The new prime minister has revived the national economic council [NEC], first set up by Gordon Brown to put the government on a war footing during the 2008 financial crash, arguing that economic growth requires the same level of urgency, focus and collective action. Continue reading...