Burnham to unveil sweeping plans for devolution and ‘reindustrialisation’
Andy Burnham will unveil sweeping plans to devolve power away from London and shift some government operations to a “Number 10 in the North”, as the Prime Minister-to-be calls for a change in “how Britain is governed”.
In a speech focused on growth on Monday morning, Burnham will say that a 10-year plan will focus on devolution of power away from London with an emphasis on “reindustrialisation” and housebuilding to boost living standards.
He will also say that decision-making will be “pushed to regions and local communities”, with the a new political system to replace the “centralised, top-down model with locally driven economic growth”.
Reforms hailed by Burnham are an echo of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s “levelling up” mission to boost growth in the North. Economists at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research suggested that under-spending on devolution and the centralised nature of allocating resources made the policy a “failure”.
Burnham’s push to hand over powers to local authorities could be controversial for officials based in London. Some government bodies that moved away from London, such as the Office for National Statistics, which moved to Newport in Wales, have struggled to attract talent and maintain high standards.
Big question remains: who will be Chancellor?
The former Manchester mayor, who could enter Number 10 as soon as the summer, is also set to highlight the differences in economic performances between different regions. London is one of only two regions in the country to maintain a fiscal surplus, with high welfare spending and poor growth levels in other regions putting pressures on public finances.
It also generates a third of corporation tax receipts for the government.
Following Burnham’s speech on devolution and growth, all eyes across City trading floors and desks in Westminster will turn to the question of whom the incoming PM will appoint as Chancellor.
Ed Miliband is seen as a frontrunner but Unite trade union boss Sharon Graham has joined economists in London in warning against his appointment due to his strongly-held views on reaching net zero and reputation for not prioritising economic growth.
Other names that are seen as potential candidates for the key Treasury role include Wes Streeting, Pat McFadden and Yvette Cooper.
Over the weekend, one of Burnham’s top advisers called for capital gains and inheritance tax to be hiked and for the fiscal rules to be loosened.
Ex-transport secretary Louise Haigh, who led Burnham’s Makerfield campaign and is set to take a senior position in his Cabinet, also pushed to dismantle the Treasury, with one department focused on Whitehall budgets while another concerns itself with growth and wider economic policy.
Writing in left-leaning magazine Renewal on Saturday, Haigh said to “deliver a meaningful economic renewal” for Britain, “a fundamental redesign of the UK tax system is required”.