Key takeaways:
- Burnham is the only declared candidate to replace Keir Starmer and could take office in mid-July if no other Labour MP enters the race.
- His plan would give mayors greater control over areas such as social housing, welfare and education, with budgets shifted from Whitehall to local leaders.
- Burnham has signalled he will keep Labour’s fiscal rules, even as some Labour MPs call for more spending and opposition parties demand clearer commitments.
Andy Burnham will put devolution at the centre of his bid to lead Britain on Monday, promising a 10-year drive to raise living standards and give mayors greater control over housing, welfare and education.
The speech in Manchester will be Burnham’s first major policy address since launching his bid to become prime minister after Keir Starmer announced his resignation last week. Burnham is the only declared candidate to replace Starmer, and if no other Labour MP enters the contest, he is expected to take office in mid-July. The BBC reported that he could become prime minister on 20 July.
Burnham, who rose to national prominence as mayor of Greater Manchester and has been dubbed the “King of the North”, is expected to outline what his team has described as a “10-year mission” to “lift Britain back up to where it should be”. He will say the government must “give Britain the circuit-breaker it needs” and promise “good growth in every postcode”.
His plan would shift decision-making from Whitehall to regions and local communities, with mayors gaining more control over budgets currently held by central government. The BBC reported that Burnham will announce plans for a “No 10 North” and set out proposals on youth employment, social housing, welfare and education.
Al Jazeera reported that Burnham will frame the programme around reindustrialisation, housing, infrastructure and reform of utilities, with an emphasis not just on who governs the UK but on how it is governed. Labour Deputy Leader Lucy Powell told the BBC: “Andy wants communities in every part of Britain to seize their own agenda.”
Burnham calls his approach “Manchesterism”, which Al Jazeera described as business-friendly socialism opposed to trickle-down economics and neoliberalism. The outlet reported that he favours greater “public control” of transport, water and energy, wants to move some government operations to Manchester, and backs cuts to business rates for pubs and music venues.
Questions remain over how much room Burnham would have to spend. He has signalled he will keep the fiscal rules set by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, including funding day-to-day government costs through tax income rather than borrowing and cutting debt as a share of national income by the end of the parliament in 2029-30. Housing Secretary Steve Reed told Sky News that Burnham was “committed” to Labour’s manifesto and would keep the party’s fiscal rules, according to Al Jazeera.
Reeves has urged Burnham to stick with her economic approach, saying it was “beginning to bear fruit”, while also backing his stance on “fiscal devolution”. Some Labour MPs on the left have called for the rules to be relaxed to allow more spending. The BBC reported that Burnham is considering Ed Miliband, Wes Streeting or Shabana Mahmood as possible replacements for Reeves.
Defence spending is also emerging as an early test. The government is due to publish a defence investment plan before Starmer’s successor takes office, setting out a multibillion-pound funding increase. Former Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin urged Burnham to commit to raising defence investment to 3.5% of GDP by 2035. Asked what advice he would give Burnham, he told the BBC: “It is [to] keep our country safe, acknowledge that you have this extraordinary responsibility – so you’re almost like a wartime prime minister at the moment. And that means you need to invest in what really keeps us safe.”
Opposition parties criticised the speech before it was delivered. Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake said Burnham’s “big idea is to shuffle power between politicians” rather than reform welfare, cut taxes or fund defence, calling it “the politics of distraction”. A Reform UK spokesman said the previews amounted to “a lot of words for no actual concrete changes”. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said Burnham had a “very short window to turn this government around” and warned: “People have heard this sort of talk before only to be badly let down because nothing changes — Burnham mustn’t repeat that mistake.”
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