The Swedish Post

Andy Burnham will use a speech in Manchester on Monday to set out a devolution agenda intended to define the opening phase of a likely premiership, promising to shift power away from London and towards regional and local authorities across Britain. The newly elected Labour MP for Makerfield, who is widely expected to replace Keir Starmer as prime minister, is preparing to frame the transfer of authority from Whitehall as both an economic strategy and a response to declining public trust in national politics.

The address is expected to be Burnham’s first major policy intervention since his return to Parliament and the launch of the Labour leadership process triggered by Starmer’s decision to step down. Burnham is currently the only declared candidate to succeed him. If no rival emerges under Labour’s timetable, the former Greater Manchester mayor could enter Downing Street within weeks, making Monday’s speech an early test of how far he intends to change the direction, structure and public tone of the government.

According to details briefed ahead of the speech, Burnham will argue that Britain needs what his allies describe as a “circuit-breaker” after a period of political instability, weak public confidence and uneven economic performance. His central proposal is expected to be a major transfer of decision-making authority out of Whitehall, with regional mayors, councils and local institutions given a larger role in shaping growth, public services and long-term investment. The speech will be delivered in Manchester, a location chosen to reinforce the message that national power should be less concentrated in London.

Burnham is expected to promise “good growth in every postcode,” a phrase intended to signal that his devolution plan is not limited to the North of England but is designed as a national governing model. The formulation reflects his argument that economic revival cannot be delivered solely through central departments and national targets. Instead, he is expected to say that local leaders should have more authority to identify barriers to growth, align public investment with regional priorities and bring together councils, employers, universities and community organisations.

The former Greater Manchester mayor has long presented his record in the region as evidence that devolved leadership can produce practical reforms. During his time as mayor, he became closely associated with transport integration, local economic planning and a more assertive role for metropolitan government. His supporters argue that this experience gives him a clearer model for decentralised administration than recent UK governments have offered. Critics, however, are likely to ask whether policies developed in one city-region can be scaled across England and adapted to areas with different political, economic and institutional conditions.

One of the most visible proposals expected in the speech is the creation of a “No 10 North” operation in Manchester. The plan would move part of the prime ministerial operation outside London, with the stated aim of embedding regional perspectives in central decision-making. While the practical scale of such an office remains unclear, its symbolism is considerable. For Burnham, it would signal that devolution is not merely a departmental policy but a change in the operating culture of government. For opponents, it may become a target for scrutiny over cost, duplication and whether it would alter where real authority is exercised.

Burnham’s team is also expected to present devolution as a tool for raising living standards over a decade. The programme is set to include reindustrialisation, housing, infrastructure and reform of essential utilities. These themes give the speech an economic dimension beyond local government restructuring. Burnham is likely to argue that local control can help accelerate housing delivery, match skills policy to labour-market needs, support industrial clusters and improve accountability for services that directly affect households. The test will be whether these ambitions are accompanied by clear funding mechanisms and legally durable powers.

Fiscal devolution is likely to be one of the most closely watched areas. Reports ahead of the speech suggested that Burnham is considering greater local influence over revenue and business rates, an issue that has long divided local government advocates, Treasury officials and MPs representing areas with weaker tax bases. Any move towards stronger local fiscal powers would raise questions about equalisation between richer and poorer regions, accountability for local tax decisions, and the relationship between elected mayors and councils. Burnham is expected to present such changes as necessary to end a system in which regional leaders must repeatedly seek approval from central government.

The procurement agenda is another expected element of the speech. Burnham is preparing to call for reforms that would use public purchasing power to support British jobs and industry while securing wider social value, including work placements and apprenticeships. That approach would align industrial policy with local employment goals, particularly in areas seeking to rebuild manufacturing capacity or strengthen supply chains. It would also require careful design to comply with procurement law, manage costs for public bodies and avoid substituting political preference for value-for-money tests.

Education and skills policy are expected to feature prominently. Burnham is likely to argue for greater parity between academic and technical routes, presenting post-16 education and apprenticeships as central to his growth plan. The focus reflects concern about young people who are not in education, employment or training, as well as wider labour shortages in sectors linked to infrastructure, energy, care and advanced manufacturing. A more devolved approach could give mayors and councils a larger role in coordinating colleges, employers and employment services, though it would also demand clearer accountability for outcomes.

The speech comes at a sensitive moment for Labour. Starmer’s resignation has opened a leadership transition only two years after the party won a large parliamentary majority. Senior Labour figures have sought to present the process as orderly and constitutionally normal, noting that under the UK parliamentary system the governing party can change leader without a general election. Political opponents have argued that a new prime minister proposing a substantial shift in governing style and priorities should seek a fresh mandate from voters. Labour figures have rejected that demand, saying the party should continue governing on the basis of its 2024 election victory.

Burnham’s position as the sole declared candidate has strengthened expectations that the leadership process could become a rapid succession rather than a prolonged contest. That gives him momentum but also increases scrutiny. Some Labour MPs have welcomed the prospect of a leader with a strong regional profile and a record of public communication outside Westminster. Others have raised concerns about how fully his national programme has been tested, who would hold the Treasury under his leadership, and how a more interventionist domestic agenda would sit alongside fiscal rules.

Those fiscal rules are expected to remain a central constraint. Senior Labour figures, including ministers speaking over the weekend, have said Burnham would stick to Labour’s 2024 manifesto fundamentals and the government’s commitments on borrowing and day-to-day spending. That message is aimed partly at financial markets and partly at voters concerned about taxation, inflation and public debt. Burnham has previously faced questions over comments about bond markets and the role of the state, and Monday’s speech is expected to include language intended to reassure investors that devolution and industrial renewal would be pursued within a framework of economic stability.

The balance between ambition and restraint will be one of the defining themes of the address. Burnham’s political appeal has often rested on his willingness to criticise centralised government and argue that the UK’s economic model has failed many communities outside London and the South East. But as a likely prime minister, he would inherit public finances shaped by weak growth, defence and energy pressures, and long-running demands on health, welfare and local government budgets. The speech is therefore expected to outline direction more than a full spending programme.

Burnham is also expected to link devolution to political culture. He has argued that public trust cannot be rebuilt only by changing leaders, and that government must be seen to solve practical problems in places where people live and work. His speech is likely to contrast local problem-solving with what he portrays as short-term Westminster politics. That framing allows him to present devolution as a democratic reform as well as an economic one. It also places responsibility on regional institutions, which would need capacity, transparency and public legitimacy if they are to receive greater authority.

The “Greater Manchester model” is expected to be a recurring reference point. In Burnham’s telling, the model depends on collaboration between government, business, universities, public services and communities. Its supporters say such partnership structures can align transport, housing, skills and investment more effectively than central departments working in isolation. Its limits are also clear: local leaders remain dependent on national funding settlements, statutory powers and ministerial approval in many areas. A national rollout would require legislation, negotiation with devolved and local institutions, and a settlement acceptable to regions with different governance arrangements.

The speech will also be watched in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, where the language of devolution carries different constitutional implications. Burnham’s immediate agenda appears focused on England and the distribution of power within the UK government’s domestic machinery. However, any prime ministerial plan to alter Whitehall’s role would inevitably interact with the wider territorial constitution. The UK already has devolved administrations with substantial powers, while English devolution remains uneven and heavily dependent on combined authorities and mayoral settlements. Burnham will need to show whether his approach clarifies or complicates that landscape.

For Labour, the political calculation is that Burnham’s regional profile could help the party recover support in areas where it faces pressure from Reform UK, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Greens and nationalist parties. His victory in the Makerfield by-election is being read by allies as evidence that he can communicate with voters in post-industrial communities and defend Labour against insurgent challengers. That interpretation will be tested nationally. A devolution pitch may appeal to voters frustrated by central government, but it may also face scepticism if it appears abstract or if local services continue to struggle.

For the opposition, the speech offers several lines of attack. Conservatives are likely to focus on legitimacy, fiscal credibility and whether moving parts of the Downing Street operation north would deliver measurable benefits. Reform UK may argue that devolution does not address voters’ concerns about immigration, public services and living costs. Smaller parties may claim that Labour is repackaging ideas long advocated by local government and constitutional reformers. Burnham’s task will be to turn a broadly popular critique of centralisation into a programme that can survive parliamentary, Treasury and administrative tests.

Monday’s address is therefore more than a leadership campaign speech. It is an attempt to define the governing identity of a likely Burnham administration before he enters office. By placing devolution, regional growth and institutional reform at the centre of his pitch, Burnham is signalling that his answer to Labour’s crisis is not only a change of personnel but a change in the geography of power. The immediate reaction will determine whether the proposal is seen as a credible governing framework, an ambitious opening bid, or a symbolic gesture ahead of a rapid transition in Downing Street.