Andy Burnham promised a “new direction” for Britain and vowed to overhaul the country’s “broken” political system as he sought to lift the spirits of Labour MPs in his first major speech as “prime minister in waiting”.
Speaking at the People’s Museum in Manchester on Monday, the newly-elected MP for Makerfield, who now appears to be the only candidate to replace Sir Keir Starmer, laid out a decade-long plan topped with the promise of a “Number 10 of the North” – an outpost of 10 Downing Street which he claimed would be “the nerve centre of a rewired Britain”.
Dressed in his trademark dark T-shirt, Mr Burnham pledged to rewrite four decades of “trickle down” economics, promising to bring UK politics “out of a rut” and drive a devolution agenda which would allow regions and communities to “drive growth in every postcode”.
He described Westminster as a much more “miserable place” since he left to become Greater Manchester mayor almost a decade ago – blaming Brexit and Covid for its decline and sharing the “frustrations” of “many good MPs” who are “powerless to bring the change their communities need”.
He also promised the “biggest council house building programme since the post war period” and signalled a drive for nationalisation of water and house building in the UK – highlighting the success he had of bringing Manchester buses back into public ownership.
But it was his pledge to reach out to all factions of the Labour Party, create a top team with a wide range of views and his bid to try to work with other political parties which won plaudits from his parliamentary colleagues.
After the speech was met with cheers and thunderous applause, a number of senior Labour MPs spoke with relief about the positivity of the messaging which promised “hope”, “a new direction” as well as a “greater sense of unity” in the face of division that both Reform and the Greens have helped amplify.
Former health secretary Wes Streeting tweeted afterwards: “Finally some hope again.”
International development committee chair Sarah Champion, one of the leaders of welfare, told The Independent: “It was exactly what I needed to hear as it will benefit towns like Rotherham enormously.
“The tone was right. We need to get away from traditional party politics and instead focus all our efforts on delivering what people need to thrive; wherever they come from.”
She added: “After that speech, I’m full Team Andy.”
Former Labour chancellor John McDonnell told The Independent: “As a first step , it was a breath of fresh air. Now it’s about getting down to the details of implementation. As a former deputy leader of the GLC I welcome the return to respecting and supporting the vital role local government can play.”
Independent MP Karl Turner, who has been suspended from Labour over his opposition to jury trial reform but is set to be welcomed back by Mr Burnham, added: “A broad church is important.”
From the right of the party, Chris Curtis, the chair of the now defunct Labour Growth Group, said: “I thought the content was very very good.”
On the left of the party, Nottingham East MP Nadia Whittome, said: “Andy Burnham’s first policy speech is a significant improvement from the government’s current offer.”
However, she added: “There are big questions still left to answer in other areas like migrants’ rights, equalities, and foreign policy. I hope that he will also set out his vision in these areas and allow them to be scrutinised.”
The former mayor refused to take questions from journalists who had attended the speech or give any interviews, raising concerns that he is trying to avoid scrutiny.
He also refused to address issues like who his chancellor will be, whether there will be an early election or whether – after he committed to Rachel Reeves’ spending rules – he would go after a series of tax rises.
Unless he faces a rival for the Labour leadership, he will become prime minister on July 20, when Parliament will be on its summer break.
But, with Mr Burnham under pressure to seek his own mandate at a general election, he insisted his plans were consistent with the manifesto Labour campaigned on in 2024 despite being “the biggest change in our lifetimes to the way the country is run”.
Dr Simon Kaye, director of policy and research at Re:State, said: “Burnham’s vision of a devolved England, with powerful regions driving growth and public service reform, is the right one. But achieving that depends on those regions being able to raise their own revenues. Today’s speech was notable by the absence of any serious commitment to fiscal devolution.
“Similarly, while ‘No 10 North’ is good political theatre, the Whitehall machine won’t be fixed by giving it a northern postcode. Real devolution means central government getting out of the way of local government, not shifting chunks of it out of London.”
“To realise his vision, a Burnham premiership will have to dramatically shrink the centre and let go of power – including giving mayors the power for tax raising – but today we had the rhetoric, rather than any sense of the roadmap, for that change.”
His speech came after Tory leader Kemi Badenoch repeated the invitation she had offered to Sir Keir to get reforms needed through on welfare and defence spending.
She warned that there is a danger of the UK being “left in limbo” for three months unless Mr Burnham starts being direct about his plans quickly.
She said: “Andy Burnham should delay the summer recess, come to Parliament, and tell us his plan for this country.”
