Burnham latest: Makerfield MP vows to ‘lift Britain back up’ in radical 10-year plan to transform UK

The former Greater Manchester mayor continues to mull his future cabinet.

Rachel Reeves appears to have conceded she will no longer be staying on as Chancellor, with several senior ministers including home secretary Shabana Mahmood and energy secretary Ed Miliband tipped to succeed her.

Lucy Powell said she thought Mr Miliband would be good at running the Treasury but cautioned against “tittle-tattle” over who may get which job.

Steve Reed said he would be “very happy” to keep his Cabinet position under a Burnham government and had been speaking to the Makerfield MP in recent days, but that appointments would be a matter for the leader.

Labour leadership frontrunner Andy Burnham will pledge to give Britain the “circuit-breaker it needs” in a major speech unveiling his plans for devolution and the economy.

Mr Burnham, who served as a minister and on the opposition frontbench before becoming a regional mayor in 2017, will use his speech to suggest his generation of politicians – himself included – must take responsibility for the loss of public trust in politics.

He is expected to commit to public procurement reform which will centre on “buying British” in a bid to revive industry and in turn securing more “social value” in the form of work placements and apprenticeships.

Education reforms are also to be unveiled aimed at delivering what his team describe as “true parity” between the academic and the technical – a balance which outgoing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has also sought to focus on while in government.

The creation of a “No10 North” will be a key Andy Burnham policy, with him planning to move some of the Downing Street operation to the North of England, reportedly Manchester.

Mr Burnham’s team say this office would “drive devolution and coordinate long-term economic renewal across every nation and region of the UK.”

Read more on the policy below:

In his first speech during the Labour leadership race, former Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham will say he will “give Britain the circuit breaker it needs”.

He will speak at the People’s History Museum in Manchester at 11:30am on Monday.

The Independent will bring you updates from it.

On Sunday, housing secretary Steve Reed, who is backing Andy Burnham to be the next prime minister, rejected suggestions he had indicated he wanted London to subsidise the rest of the nation.

“First of all, that’s not what he’s saying,” he told Sky News.

“What Andy is saying is that this is one of the biggest economies on the planet, and yet we have some of the poorest regions in Europe in this country, and that is because of the grotesque regional economic inequality we have in this country.”

He added it “benefits the south east of England if the rest of the country does well”, claiming Mr Burnham’s plan would help ease London’s housing crisis.

“It doesn’t help London if London is the only place where people see opportunities for jobs and economic growth, because people from all over the country come to London,” he said.

Following his victory in the Makerfield by-election earlier this month, Mr Burnham said: “A Makerfield test at the heart of British politics will make sure that the places Westminster has neglected will now get fairness.”

A desire to improve the North of England’s economic fortunes and address regional inequality through devolution is central to Mr Burnham’s politics.

His 2024 book Head North, written with Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram, advocated for power to be less central and moved away from Whitehall to local authorities and the combined authorities, such as that in Greater Manchester he used to lead.

The book called for a “more balanced approach, where councils and mayors were dealt some cards too”.

The former mayor is said to be planning to boost economic growth by granting regional leaders enhanced authority over social housing, welfare, and post-16 education.

Andy Burnham’s team have said that his speech at the People’s History Museum in Manchester will cover the following:

• There must be a change in how Britain is governed, not just changing who governs it.
• The central proposal is the biggest transfer of power out of Whitehall in modern times, with decision-making pushed to regions and local communities.
• It sets out a vision of “good growth in every postcode”, replacing a centralised, top-down model with locally driven economic growth.
• A flagship proposal is the creation of a ‘No10 North’ to drive devolution and coordinate long-term economic renewal across every nation and region of the UK.
• The speech commits to a 10-year mission to raise living standards through reindustrialisation, housing, infrastructure and reform of essential utilities.
• It argues for a new partnership between government, business, universities and communities, drawing on the Greater Manchester model.
• It calls for a new political culture focused on place before party, problem-solving before point-scoring and long-term thinking over short-term politics.
• The speech includes a commitment to reform public procurement to ensure maximised support for British jobs and British industry and, in return, secure more social value in the form of work placements and apprenticeships.
• It sets out a vision for major reform to the education system to ensure it is based on true parity between academic and technical, offering a path to all young people, no longer overly focused on the university route.
• The speech is the start of a significant response to the Milburn report and a drive to reduce the number of young people who are not in education, employment, or training.