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

Leading Labor leader Andy Burnham will vow to give Britain “the circuit breaker it needs” in a major speech in which he will lay out his plans for devolution and the economy.

Mr Burnham, who was a minister and frontbencher of the opposition before becoming a regional mayor in 2017, will use his speech to suggest that his generation of politicians – including himself – must take responsibility for the loss of public confidence in politics.

He is expected to commit to public procurement reform, which will focus on “buying British” to stimulate industry and in turn provide more “social value” in the form of job placements and apprenticeships.

Education reforms will also be announced, aiming to deliver what his team describes as “true equality” between academic and technical, the balance that outgoing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also tried to focus on when he was in government.

The creation of “No10 North” will be an important policy of Andy Burnham, who plans to move part of the Downing Street operation to the North of England, to Manchester.

Mr Burnham’s team says the office will “promote devolution and coordinate long-term economic renewal across every country and territory of the UK”.

Read more about the policy below:

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

He will be speaking at Manchester Public History Museum at 11.30am on Monday.

Independent will bring you updates from it.

On Sunday, housing minister Steve Reed, who backed Andy Burnham to become the next prime minister, rejected suggestions that he wanted London to subsidize the rest of the country.

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

“What Andy is saying is that this is one of the largest economies on the planet, and yet we have some of the poorest parts of Europe in this country, and that’s because of the terrible regional economic disparity that we have in this country.”

He claimed Mr Burnham’s plan would help alleviate London’s housing crisis, adding that it would “benefit the south-east of England if the rest of the country does well”.

“It doesn’t help London if it’s the only place where people see opportunities for jobs and economic growth because people from all over the country are coming 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 ensure that the places Westminster has neglected will now get justice.”

At the heart of Mr Burnham’s policy is his desire to improve the economic situation of northern England and address regional inequality through devolution.

2024 book Head northWritten with Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram, he advocated for less centralization of power, moving from Whitehall to local authorities and combined authorities such as the one in Greater Manchester that he leads.

The book called for “a more balanced approach where councils and mayors are also dealt some cards.”

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

Andy Burnham’s team said his talk at the People’s History Museum in Manchester will cover:

• There needs to be a change not just in who runs Britain, but in the way it is governed.
• The centralized proposal is the biggest transfer of power from Whitehall in modern times, with decision-making devolved to regions and local communities.
• It lays out a vision of “good growth in every zip code” by replacing a centralized, top-down model with locally driven economic growth.
• One of the key proposals is the creation of ‘No10 North’ to promote devolution and coordinate long-term economic regeneration in every country and territory of the UK.
• The speech commits to a 10-year mission to raise living standards through reindustrialization and reform of housing, infrastructure and basic services.
• Drawing on the Greater Manchester model, it advocates a new partnership between government, business, universities and communities.
• He calls for a new political culture that focuses on venue before party, problem-solving before scoring points, and long-term thinking over short-term politics.
• The speech includes a commitment to reform public procurement to ensure maximum support for British employment and British industry, and in turn deliver greater social value in the form of work placements and apprenticeships.
• It sets out a vision for a major reform of the education system to ensure it is based on true equality between academic and technical, offering a pathway for all young people who are no longer overly focused on the university route.
• The speech is the beginning of a significant response to the Milburn report and the beginning of an effort to reduce the number of young people not in education, employment or training.