Andy Burnham’s 10-Year Mission To Reform Government

Andy Burnham has outlined his vision for the country in his first major speech since Keir Starmer announced his resignation.

Speaking in front of around 100 supporters, including Labour MPs and regional mayors, Burnham vowed to take the UK – which he claimed is “stuck in a rut” – in a “new direction”.

Though leadership nominations have not officially open, Burnham is widely expected to be the only Labour MP with enough support to replace Starmer.

If no-one else challenges him, Burnham will likely become the Labour leader on July 17 and prime minister on July 20.

But the former Greater Manchester mayor has not been in government for decades and only won the Makerfield by-election earlier this month.

While he has insisted he would stick to Labour’s 2024 manifesto, a question mark still hovers over what his time in No.10 might look like.

Burnham’s speech today was an attempt to close that vacuum around what he might look like as prime minister (for no less than the next ten years, according to the new MP).

Though the PM-in-waiting did not take any questions from the press, here’s what we learned from his speech in Manchester.

Burnham announced that he would commit to redistributing power away from London by splitting the No.10 operation in two, with one office in the north of England.

He said: “No 10 North will be the nerve centre of a rewired Britain.

“It will be the conduit through which we redistribute power and resources across the UK.”

Burnham said his office in the north will support regions across the UK on three tasks: “Reform of essential utilities, re-industrialisation and the regeneration of places.”

It would mean regions could take “greater public control of essential services like water, housing, energy, and transport” in a move away from privatisation.

He said: “Ours is a 10-year mission to raise people’s living standards.

“I know people can’t wait forever for change. I heard on doorsteps in Makerfield how people need a bit extra now to help with rising costs.

“I will do my very best to deliver it, and whilst not taking risks with the public finances, will seek to give Britain some breathing space as soon as I can.

“People need to be able to look forward to a night out or a holiday with the kids. People need hope.”

Burnham said he would bring about the “biggest rebalancing of power our country has seen” by introducing more devolution.

“Let me say this very directly: the days of Whitehall fighting the devolution of power into the regions and nations are over for good,” Burnham continued.

“The whole of Whitehall will now be required to get behind our places and work together with them to make quicker, more joined-up decisions.”

The Makerfield MP said he wanted to introduce power at ground level along with a clear share vision which investors can back and committing to “decent infrastructure” across the country.

He pointed to the work he’s done in Greater Manchester having been the region’s mayor up until earlier this month.

He said he gave “businesses the stability and the confidence to invest, increasing their productivity and adoption of new technology.”

Burnham promised to make sure British-based companies are in a better position to win procurement contracts, too.

Burnham said he would “reach out to other parties” in a “fragmented, disjointed” Westminster if he were to get into No.10.

He also suggested he would avoid using the whipping system to force MPs to back the government in parliamentary votes.

It comes after Starmer was heavily criticised by removing the whip from his own backbenchers after they rebelled against his government.

He said: “I will work hard to change that culture, leading from the front and showing how things can be different, letting MPs be authentic representatives, and not using the whip system to create fear or close down debate, involving more people in the work of the government and drawing on the breadth and depth of talent and expertise our party has to offer.

“While the political direction I set is not up for negotiation, I will build an inclusive team at the very highest level, so that all parts of the party and the country can see themselves reflected and represented in it.”

Burnham promised to oversee the “biggest council house building programme since the post-war period.”

“We will use public land, vacant public land, to reduce costs,” he said. “Let me just take you back to the 1970s.

“When we were growing up here amongst the friends we had at school, there were two things that were the foundations of working class aspiration: a council home, a secure home that was the foundation for everything, and then good technical education.

“Those things have been taken away in the decades since, so no wonder so many young people struggle to make it work… don’t blame them, blame ourselves.”

Burnham said he would end “trickle-down economics” and instead offer “good growth in every British postcode”.

He claimed he would achieve that through the “stability that comes from sound public finances” and the “discipline of our current fiscal rules”.

“The change will be the biggest change in our lifetimes to the way the country is run and it is consistent with the 2024 manifesto,” he said.

“We will create a more streamlined state with a clearer purpose to power up all parts of the country and put a laser-like focus on growth and regeneration, good growth.”

Burnham said he takes Alan Milburn’s May review into youth unemployment “very seriously”, after the former health secretary found more than a million 16-to-24-year-olds are not in education, employment or training.

“We need a complete rethink of how we support the next generation to succeed, and it has to start with the education system.

“The days of a school system configured entirely around the university route will be brought to an end.

“University is great for those who want it, but when are we going to focus on the life chances of those kids who want something different? The country hasn’t done that for a long, long time.

“People have argued over many years for an education system based on parity between academic and technical, and that is what we will build, giving every young person growing up here a clear path into a re-industrialised Britain.”

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