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Andy Burnham has promised the “biggest rebalancing of power our country has seen” as he set out his plans should be become prime minister.
The newly elected MP for Makerfield is currently the only contender to replace Keir Starmer who announced he will resign as prime minister.
Delivering his first policy speech in Manchester, Burnham pledged a more collaborative approach to politics in an outline of his 10-year plan. He said:
“After 10 years of political turbulence since Brexit and 20 years of falling living standards since the 2008 financial crash, Westminster hasn’t been working for people and it hasn’t been working for a very long time.
“In fact, it is broken. And as a result, the country isn’t where it should be. It is stuck in a rut. And clearly we can’t go on like this.
“My generation of politicians, including me, must take responsibility. We haven’t been good enough. But instead of being honest about that, the parties have continued with politics as usual, finger pointing, point scoring.
“Let me state my clear intention as I put myself forward, true to the motto of this city, I am going to do things differently.
“I am going to break with the more of the same approach that has got us here.
“I am going to give Britain the circuit breaker it needs by building a more collaborative politics in Westminster, by taking power out of the centre and putting it in the hands of the people and places who can use it best.”
He promised to focus on regional growth and “take the power out of the centre”, led by a new prime minister’s office established in Manchester, known as ‘No 10 North’.
“This number 10 North will be the nerve centre of a rewired Britain,” he said.
“It will be the conduit through which we redistribute power and resources across the UK. It will co-ordinate all parts of government at national and local level, to agree a long-term economic strategy and help all places set new growth ambitions.”
For businesses, he pledged to back “our technologists, entrepreneurs and creatives” to make Britain the “innovation nation of the next decade”. Business rates will be reformed, he said, because “rather than being a marker of decline, should we not make our high street the new symbol of Britain’s renaissance?”
He also promised to change the way public procurement operates for British businesses.
“For too long, UK public procurement policy has been based on chasing cut price deals around the world, rather than helping our own British-based suppliers become more stable and competitive,” he said.
“No more. From here on, every pound raised from taxpayers will work harder for them, and that approach will apply fully to the defence investment plan.
“We will make sure that all eligible public contracts are subject to proper social value weighting, and we will do that to make sure British-based companies are in a better position to win those contracts.
“This change is essential given the need to build our own resilience in places across the country.
“In an increasingly uncertain world, we need to safeguard sovereign manufacturing and production capability across the country in critical sectors like steel, defence, energy, food and farming, rather than just being prepared to let it go, as we have sadly done in the past.”
Saying he “takes very seriously” the findings of the Alan Milburn report on youth unemployment, Burnham said:
“We need a complete rethink of how we support the next generation to succeed, and it has to start with the education system.
“The days of a school system configured entirely around the university route will be brought to an end.
“University is great for those who want it, but when are we going to focus on the life chances of those kids who want something different when the country hasn’t done that for a long, long time? People have argued over many years for an education system based on parity between academic and technical, and that is what we will build.”
Other pledges by Burnham included the “biggest council house building programme since the post-war period”, creating a more streamlined state with a “laser-like focus on growth and regeneration” and reducing the welfare bill “in a way that is fair and lasting”
He ended his speech with: “Imagine good growth in every postcode and hope in every heart. Imagine no more, let’s make it happen.”
Reaction to Andy Burnham’s policy speech
Business owners have already told us what they’d like to see from the new prime minister, but here’s some reaction to today’s speech from Andy Burnham.
Shevaun Haviland, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said:
“Firms need consistency, clarity and stability from policymakers, if business confidence is to be improved.
“Businesses will judge Andy Burnham’s plans on whether they deliver the boost to investment, productivity and trade desperately needed to unlock growth. Government must always ask whether policy passes a ‘growth delivery test’ to encourage firms to invest and grow.
“It’s crucial that the devolution agenda has local business at its heart and brings benefits to all parts of the UK.
“Our Chamber network completely understands how national ambition can be translated into placed based economic growth. We’ve long argued that more decisions affecting local economies, including transport, skills and infrastructure, should be taken closer to the communities they serve.
“A pledge to improve the public procurement system is welcome, but it must quickly bring benefits to SME supply chains across the UK.
“Fiscal devolution must see money spent in the right way, to boost local growth. It must not mean further costs on business. BCC analysis shows government-imposed costs on SMEs have risen by more than 70% in just 10 years. New local business taxes and visitor levies would stifle economic growth.
“The difficult truth is, whoever leads the UK, the primary challenge remains the same -delivering growth. Business stands ready to work in partnership with any new prime minister to focus on that crucial task.”
Eva Barboni, executive director, Enterprise Britain, said:
“We welcome his commitments to back Britain’s entrepreneurs, build clusters of innovation around our world-leading universities, and ensure that we capture the full value of British businesses.
“These commitments must be followed by a clear plan of action.
“Devolution alone will not automatically deliver growth. We need bold measures to unlock the capital British start-ups and scale-ups need to grow, ensure they can hire the right talent at the right time, and tear down the barriers that are holding ambitious businesses back.
Mark Smith, managing director, Ayming UK, said:
“Businesses desperately need some stability. Not only are we getting a new prime minister, but also probably a new chancellor too, which raises questions about what happens to existing policies. For example, will the 2024 corporation tax roadmap be honoured? Do the commitments set out in last year’s industrial strategy still stand?
“Investment cycles often take place over five or ten years, so firms need confidence that the environment they are operating in will remain broadly stable. Predictability may sound dull, but it is one of the most important foundations for growth.
“If Andy Burnham does become prime minister, he needs to set out a clear plan for business early on and, importantly, stick to it. Since Labour came to power, we’ve seen too many U-turns and too much speculation around key policy areas. That makes it incredibly difficult for businesses to plan ahead and commit to long-term investment. Businesses want a government that sets out a compelling vision for growth and a clear timeline for delivering it.”
Dr Joe Marshall, CEO, National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB), said:
“Universities’ contribution to local growth includes supplying skills and talent, but is broader and deeper – extending to the research and innovation activities needed to seed and grow the next generation of business activity.
“Achieving parity between academic routes should therefore not be pursued by decreasing support to universities, whose finances are heavily interlinked with this broader activity.”
“Supporting technical education at the expense of higher education, is not a ‘good growth’-orientated approach. While it may yield short-term benefits for reducing NEET figures, in the longer term it could further fragment the research and innovation systems and hinder the vital contribution made by universities to their local regions. The impact of a university going bust would in many cases be devastating for local economies and this risk needs to be factored into any new approach to post-16 education funding.
“Despite these concerns, NCUB remains positive about the ambition communicated in today’s speech and welcomes Burnham’s indication he would support more cross-UK partnerships between places with complementary industrial clusters. This, along with his plan to further consolidate public-private partnerships would strongly support progress made against the UK industrial strategy.”
