Andy Burnham argues that establishing “No 10 North” in Manchester is intended to shift meaningful decision-making power away from London and make regional growth a central government priority. He says decades of political centralisation, privatisation and deindustrialisation have left many communities unable to recover, contributing to economic inequality and political discontent.

The new office would work closely with the Treasury to accelerate devolution, support reindustrialisation, remove barriers to housing and transport projects, and coordinate Whitehall departments around local needs. Burnham presents it as a major restructuring of the state, with the long-term aim of achieving comparable living standards across the UK’s regions and nations, though the article does not set out specific funding or delivery targets.