Burnham hails ‘best day of my life’ as he opens ‘gimmick’ No10 North office in Manchester and dismisses cost of huge security operation… after flying in on Government jet
Andy Burnham hailed the ‘best day of my life’ today by opening a temporary ‘No10 North’ office in Manchester.
The Prime Minister spoke enthusiastically about the project after arriving on a government jet from Scotland, where he attended the opening of the Commonwealth Games last night.
He dismissed fears over the bill of ‘rigging’ and a major security operation, saying: ‘How much does it cost for everyone to go to London every time there’s a meeting, every time you want to have a debate about something?’
Mr Burnham is making good use of his decision to spend part of the week in Manchester, where his family lives and where he is mayor.
The so-called ‘King in the North’ wants to use these regulations as a symbol of his attempt to devolve power outside Westminster.
However, construction in the area planned to be the city’s leading base has not yet started and will not become operational until 2032.
Instead Mr Burnham plans to use Heron House, an existing Government office in the center used by GCHQ.
Security at the building, which also houses a bar, has been greatly increased and workers have been busily sprucing it up near Albert Square.
No10 insisted it would come at no extra cost to taxpayers, but experts warned the bill to retrofit an office for the Prime Minister and provide 24-hour armed police would be an eyesore.
Andy Burnham hailed ‘the best day of my life’ today by opening a temporary ‘No10 North’ office in Manchester
Cabinet Secretary Antonia Romeo was also present at the ‘opening’
The Prime Minister’s motorcade arrived at temporary ‘No10 North’ Heron House in Manchester today.
De facto Deputy Prime Minister Louise Haigh (left) seen in offices this morning
Security around the building, which also houses a bar, has been significantly increased
Workers are busily trying to tidy up the area near Albert Square
Much of the Government estate in Downing Street and Whitehall is completely closed off to the public (Mr Burnham was filmed outside No10 this week)
Most of the Government estates in Downing Street and Whitehall are completely closed to the public.
Ahead of his arrival at the Manchester offices, Mr Burnham said: ‘For 40 years power and resources have been concentrated and many communities have felt forgotten, without the attention and investment they deserve.
‘No 10 North will not change that by giving more power to every postcode in the whole country.
‘There will be a situation room to change Britain for the better; to get the power out of Westminster and into the hands of people at a local level so they can turn things around.
‘The days of Whitehall resisting devolution are well over.’
Mr Burnham is expected to speak to leaders of business representative organisations, including the Federation of Small Businesses and the Confederation of British Industry, ahead of his first No. 10 meeting in the North.
The Treasury approved the ‘outline case’ for a public service ‘digital campus’ in Manchester, which has been under development since the council bought the disused retail park in 2017. This is now projected as permanent ‘No10 North’.
Construction on the five-acre site is planned to begin in the coming years, but the ‘target’ for it to be operational is not until 2032, three years after the deadline for the next general election.
Construction on the site, which is planned to be the city’s leading base, has not yet started and will not become operational until 2032.
An artist’s impression of the ‘digital campus’ planned to be built in Manchester
Mr Burnham recently reviewed mock-ups of his promised ‘No10 North’ on TikTok – but he may not even have the power to keep it running
At this stage, approximately 8,800 officers are planned to work in an area of 900,000 square meters.
Earlier this week the Prime Minister’s spokesman insisted staff were ‘already working at the new No10 North’.
The official said: ‘The management of No10 North will be funded from existing Cabinet Office budgets. ‘There is no additional cost to taxpayers.’
On the question of relocation packages for London-based staff to move there, he said it was ‘standard practice’ for employers to support staff who need to relocate.
The spokesman said the figures would be detailed in due course, adding: ‘We already have around 80,000 officers in the North West of England, with around 700 posts moved from London to Manchester last year.’
