Andy Burnham

Andy Burnham announces £442m for a national drive in England to get every rough sleeper into accommodation by Christmas, with local leaders deciding how funding is used. He argues that councils, charities, businesses, faith groups and communities must share responsibility, while acknowledging that temporary accommodation is not a permanent solution. Longer-term measures include education reform, reindustrialisation, housebuilding and further devolution, with Burnham arguing that economic growth is inadequate if people remain homeless.

Andy Burnham outlines government plans to tackle consumer practices he describes as everyday rip-offs, including misleading discounts and difficult-to-cancel subscriptions. New rules planned for January 2027 would require subscriptions to be as easy to leave as to join and prevent automatic renewals without notification. He argues that these changes could reduce unnecessary household costs, restore public confidence in politics and form part of a broader cost-of-living programme shaped by listening to people across the UK.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham opened No 10 North in Manchester and defended its cost against London-based criticism, arguing that a second government base would rebalance power and enable major decisions to be made in the North. The temporary site at Heron House will eventually move to a permanent brownfield location, while security experts warned that protection and infrastructure could cost millions. Burnham’s government also announced a £2 bus-fare cap, removal of VAT from household electricity bills and business-rates relief for pubs, clubs and live-music venues. Angela Rayner said the government remained committed to building 1.5 million homes but ruled out rent controls, drawing criticism from Jeremy Corbyn. The SNP said the measures would bring little benefit to Scotland, Ed Davey urged Burnham to oppose Donald Trump’s tariffs, and energy-sector representatives pressed for approval of the Jackdaw and Rosebank oil and gas projects.

Andy Burnham argues that No 10 North, the government’s new Manchester-based centre, will rebalance power away from London and use central government to accelerate devolution, regional growth and reindustrialisation across the UK. He says the initiative will coordinate Whitehall and the Treasury behind local priorities, remove barriers to housing and transport investment, and seek equivalent living standards across the regions and nations. Drawing on Greater Manchester’s experience with public-control buses and economic growth, Burnham outlines a forthcoming 10-year national plan alongside immediate tax cuts intended to ease household and business pressures.

Andy Burnham argues that Reform UK’s alliance with former Conservatives exposes it as a Thatcherite rather than genuinely working-class movement, giving the British left an opportunity to challenge the right’s account of who broke Britain. He attributes the country’s economic and social problems to deindustrialisation, privatisation, austerity and Brexit. Burnham presents Greater Manchester’s devolved, collaborative model—publicly controlled buses, expanded social housing, industrial investment, education reform and reduced crisis spending—as evidence that government can rebuild prosperity. He calls for the approach, or “Manchesterism,” to be applied nationally through greater devolution, electoral reform and sustained public investment.

Andy Burnham argues that welfare reform should focus on preventing unemployment and rising public-service costs rather than relying on benefit cuts. He proposes that Greater Manchester become the UK’s first “prevention demonstrator,” using a housing-first strategy, expanded social housing, more supportive employment services, and guaranteed work placements for young people. Burnham contends that housing insecurity, personal debt and mental-health problems are major barriers to work, and that addressing them through locally trusted organizations could reduce reliance on Universal Credit and the NHS. He also claims that large-scale social-home building could generate substantial savings, potentially helping fund removal of the two-child benefit cap.

Andy Burnham argues that the next UK general election will be decided in Northern England and calls for a rapid, substantial new deal for the region. He proposes investment in green industries and net zero, large-scale construction of affordable social housing, expanded technical education, and improved rail infrastructure. Burnham says the north’s devolved institutions and industrial potential give it a strong basis for economic renewal, while criticizing Conservative and Reform UK opposition to net zero and the government’s limited attention to northern needs. He urges Labour mayors and ministers to agree a deliverable programme before the June spending review so tangible results are visible before the next election.

Andy Burnham argues that Keir Starmer's early meeting with England's mayors signals a decisive shift toward devolving power from Whitehall. He says empowered combined authorities are essential to improving regional productivity, housing, transport and skills, contrasting Labour's approach with Tory centralization, the handling of pandemic restrictions and the cancellation of HS2. Burnham highlights Greater Manchester's proposed baccalaureate as an alternative to the university route and calls for closer cooperation from education and employment departments to deliver inclusive economic growth.

Andy Burnham argues that Labour should campaign on detailed, locally deliverable solutions to the housing crisis rather than broad slogans or culture-war issues. He proposes building at least 10,000 new council homes across Greater Manchester during his mayoral term, improving landlord standards and enforcement, and using compulsory purchase powers against unsafe landlords. He also calls for Right to Buy to be suspended for newly built council homes, arguing that selling social housing cheaply undermines councils’ incentives to build and leaves the country trying to refill a bath without a plug. Burnham presents English devolution and cooperation between Labour mayors and a future Labour government as an opportunity to expand public control and deliver long-term housing reform.

Andy Burnham argues that Conservative levelling-up policies have failed because regional inequality cannot be addressed through centralized government. Launching his campaign for a third term as Greater Manchester mayor, he proposes three major initiatives: a housing-first strategy including 30,000 net-zero council homes and stronger landlord enforcement; the Greater Manchester baccalaureate as an alternative to the university pathway; and an expanded Live Well service combining employment, social-prescribing and community support. Burnham says Greater Manchester's economic growth demonstrates the potential of deeper English devolution and calls on Westminster to transfer more powers and funding to regional authorities.

Andy Burnham argues that Greater Manchester needs greater control over technical education to match its rapidly changing, innovation-driven economy. He proposes a Greater Manchester Baccalaureate alongside the English Baccalaureate, combining core academic subjects with engineering, business and creative disciplines and creating clearer routes into well-paid local jobs or degrees. Burnham says surveys show strong demand for technical pathways but inadequate information for students, and argues that parity between academic and vocational education requires local flexibility rather than a one-size-fits-all national model. He criticizes Education Secretary Gillian Keegan’s opposition while urging the government to work with the region, warning that Greater Manchester will proceed with its plans regardless.

Andy Burnham examines Manchester’s conflicted relationship with slavery: the city’s cotton workers opposed slave-picked cotton and supported Abraham Lincoln in 1862, while the Manchester Guardian and other local interests were more ambivalent. He welcomes the Guardian’s Cotton Capital project and the Scott Trust’s commitment of more than £10 million to restorative work, linking it to Greater Manchester initiatives launched after Black Lives Matter. These include a race equality panel, mentoring through Operation Black Vote, a review of joint enterprise prosecutions and expanded Black History Month events. Burnham argues that historical honesty must lead to practical action, especially as racial discrimination and poor housing continue to harm Black communities.

Andy Burnham argues that meaningful levelling up in northern England would require constitutional guarantees of equal living standards, sustained redistribution of funding and substantial regional autonomy, drawing on Germany’s federal system as a model. He criticizes Whitehall’s competitive, centrally controlled funding approach and says historic underinvestment in northern infrastructure and industry helped create today’s inequality. Burnham highlights emerging devolution agreements in the north-east and Greater Manchester, including a proposal for a single grant, as potential foundations for a new settlement with a northern equivalent of the Barnett formula.

Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram argue that chronic cancellations, overcrowding and delays on Northern and TransPennine Express services are damaging lives, productivity and the northern economy. They blame both rail operators and the government’s fragmented, underfunded system, noting that transport spending per person is substantially higher in London than in the north. They call for immediate funding for Northern and Avanti West Coast, possible consolidation or public management of regional operators, and delivery of Northern Powerhouse Rail to improve east-west connectivity and support economic growth and climate goals.

Andy Burnham argues that Britain’s first-past-the-post electoral system and centralized Westminster politics have entrenched inequality, concentrated power and enabled dysfunctional government. He calls on Labour to openly support proportional representation and cooperate with other parties on an elected senate representing the nations and regions and extensive devolution, while rejecting an electoral pact. He also proposes broad social reforms including housing as a legal right, expanded council housebuilding, higher income support, an end to insecure work, NHS-style social care, greater mental-health spending, and the renationalization of rail and re-regulation of buses.

Duncan Chapman, who died of cancer aged 55, is remembered as an unsung community leader and longtime head of Tessa Jowell’s parliamentary office. A lifelong Dulwich Hamlet supporter, he helped broker talks among the club, its stadium owners and the local council after the team was locked out of its ground, enabling its return to East Dulwich and contributing to plans for a new stadium. The obituary also recounts his education, early career as a patent analyst, family life and wide-ranging interests in sport, music, cooking, technology and travel.

Andy Burnham urges Boris Johnson to give concrete meaning to the government’s “levelling up” agenda by delivering promised rail improvements and London-level bus fares in Greater Manchester and other English regions. He criticizes delays to Northern Powerhouse Rail, the possible cancellation of HS2’s eastern leg and the risk that spending cuts will dilute investment across the country. Burnham proposes a Levelling Up Deal giving Greater Manchester funding and powers to develop zero-carbon transport, housing and jobs, arguing that prioritizing neglected northern areas could help rebuild trust and influence Conservative prospects in former “red wall” seats.

Andy Burnham urges the UK government to make levelling up a genuinely unifying programme that narrows the north-south divide rather than rewarding favored or Conservative-led towns. He offers Greater Manchester as a model, highlighting its housing investment fund and proposed Bee Network, an integrated bus and tram system. Burnham also revisits the 2020 dispute over COVID-19 restrictions, arguing that the government failed to provide fair support for workers and businesses facing tighter measures. He proposes a partnership involving expanded public transport, home retrofits, carbon reduction and job creation, with Greater Manchester accepting government accountability for delivery.