It’s been less than five days since Andy Burnham walked into No. 10 Downing Street as Prime Minister. Already we’ve learnt a lot about what the northerner has in store for the UK.
First and foremost is Burnham’s establishment of No. 10 North – a secondary government headquarters in Manchester. Ahead of his first working day at the new northern offices, the PM told staff it was “the best of his life”.
He added: “Things are coming full circle here, for me to be here with you all in the heart of Manchester this Friday morning at the end of a fairly big week is just everything to me.”
No. 10 North is – in Burnham’s own words – set out to achieve devolution and “put the power in every postcode”, rather than the London-centric distribution of power we’ve had up until now.
“It’s felt a little at times that local government’s just been a bit forgotten and places aren’t able to do what they want to do,” Burnham told staff.
The Liverpudlian’s famously domestic priorities may even bring him closer to Europe without him realising, according to some commentators.
Although he may spend less time on diplomacy than his predecessor Keir Starmer – who critics branded ‘never here Keir’ because of his frequent foreign travels – we know his instincts are pro-European: he argued against the “isolation” of Brexit in 2016.
On the campaign trail ahead of his victory in Makerfield, he said “Brexit has been damaging” but added “I also believe the last thing we should do right now is rerun those arguments”.
It appears then, that Burnham may initially spend his tenure as PM focusing on matters closer to home.
In his speech outside Downing Street on Monday, he said his “first instruction” would be “to end rough sleeping in our country”. This comes alongside Burnham promising “the biggest council house building programme since the post-war period”.
The very next day, the Treasury announced it would cut external VAT from domestic electricity bills this financial year. This means roughly £45 is set to be knocked off the typical household’s annual bill from the autumn.
According to officials, this is set to cost an estimated £850m in 2026-27 but will be funded by scrapping the previous government’s digital ID scheme.
On Wednesday, Burnham announced it would reduce the cap on bus fares in England – not including London – from £3 to £2 from January 1, 2027.
The £500 million this would cost the Department of Transport would be found by replacing grants for international climate projects with loans, according to the government.
Then yesterday, Burnham unveiled plans aimed to save the pub industry. From April 2027, a typical pub or grassroots music venue will be saved £1,100 via the government cutting business rates for these establishments by 20%.
Earlier this week the PM called for a pause on a scheme that would have seen thousands of prisoners in England and Wales eligible to be freed early.
He’s also not been afraid to wield the axe, moving Starmer allies Steve Reed, David Lammy and James Murray out of the cabinet and replacing them with Miatta Fahnbulleh and Wes Streeting.