Andy Burnham Plans to Decentralize No 10 Operations to Manchester

The Lead: Power Shift from London to Manchester

Andy Burnham is planning to move parts of the No 10 operation to Manchester as part of measures to devolve power away from London. The Makerfield MP will announce next week his intention to transfer parts of the prime minister's office to the north should he become prime minister later this year, following Keir Starmer's resignation announcement.

The Decentralization Plan: A New Governance Model

The move, first reported by the Financial Times, will be included in a major policy speech next week outlining Burnham's vision for radical devolution across the UK. As the overwhelming favorite to succeed Starmer after Wes Streeting confirmed he will not run for leader, Burnham has indicated that devolution will be at the heart of his premiership.

Burnham has previously argued for every area of the UK to be given its own devolved settlement, allowing all regions to elect a mayor should they choose. In a book published with Liverpool mayor Steve Rotheram two years ago, he also called for a "basic law" that would require the government to equalize living standards across the country.

The Current State of Government Operations

While 10 Downing Street is arguably the most famous address in the country, successive prime ministers have complained that it is not suitable as the hub of a modern government. Staff members are often crammed into rooms dotted around the 300-year-old townhouse, while much of the work of government happens around the corner in the Cabinet Office, which is connected to 9 Downing Street by a passageway.

No 10 officials were preparing a plan to create a new Office of the prime minister earlier this year, which would have merged aspects of Downing Street and the Cabinet Office, but the plan was scrapped after disastrous local election results for Labour.

The Impact: Addressing Regional Inequality

The UK has some of the worst regional inequality of any developed country, which Burnham argues is in part because political power is highly centralized in London. He has promised to govern according to a "Makerfield test" under which policies are measured against how they would affect his new constituents.

The government has had some success moving departments, with nine of them having combined forces to open a new "economic campus" in Darlington. Construction began this year on a new five-storey office in the north-eastern town that will become the permanent base for 1,600 civil servants.

The Future Outlook: A New Era of Devolved Governance

If Burnham follows through on his plans, it could mark the most significant shift in UK governance since the establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1999. The move would not only redistribute administrative functions but could also signal a fundamental rethinking of how power is distributed across the UK.

However, it remains unclear whether Burnham intends to follow the advice of one of his economic advisers, former Bank of England economist Andy Haldane, who has previously called for splitting the Treasury and creating a new growth ministry in the north.