MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Andy Burnham, Britain’s presumptive next prime minister, will set out details on Monday to give more powers to local government as part of a plan to spread wealth and economic growth.
Burnham will set out a sweeping economic vision
in a key speech as he tries to bring voters, colleagues and financial markets up to speed with his ideas during his rapid progress toward power.His office says Burnham will set out a 10-year vision
for “good growth in every postcode,” in a country where wealth and power are concentrated in London and the south of England.
During the speech in Manchester, where he served for nine years as mayor, Burnham plans to outline plans to move part of his prime ministerial operation to the northwest England city. He’ll also commit to giving regional mayors more power over housing, welfare and education.
Burnham is aiming to replicate on a nationwide level the approach he took in Greater Manchester — harnessing private and public money to invest in transport, housing and infrastructure.
His speech is set to include a commitment to create new industrial jobs and better educational opportunities, and to reform of the U.K.’s inefficient and expensive privatized water and energy utilities.
Burnham won praise for his role in revitalizing and regenerating Manchester, but he has not served in a U.K. government for almost two decades, and may struggle to replicate “Manchesterism” on a U.K.-wide scale.
He’ll also be aware that Prime Minister Keir Starmer also announced a 10-year mission — the equivalent of two full terms in government —- to transform Britain soon after he was elected in a landslide in July 2024. Starmer is leaving after two years in office marred by missteps and judgment errors that eroded his standing with his party and the public.
Burnham won a special election for a seat in Parliament on June 18 and was sworn in as a lawmaker on June 22 — the same day Starmer announced that he will resign as soon as a successor is chosen.
Burnham is the strong favorite to replace him in a Labour Party leadership contest in the next few weeks. No other contenders have entered the race so far, and if no one does, Burnham will become prime minister by July 20.
While Burnham is considered more charismatic than the stolid Starmer, he will face many of the same political and economic challenges, including a sluggish economy, tattered public services and a cost-of-living squeeze. He will also be constrained by the platform the center-left Labour Party was elected on in 2024, with its pledges not to increase taxes on working people.
And like other NATO countries, the U.K. is under pressure to dramatically increase defense spending to counter a more aggressive Russia and less reliable United States.
The government's long-awaited defense investment plan — which sparked the resignation of Defense Secretary John Healey on June 11 — is expected to be published before a NATO summit in Turkey on July 7 and 8. Starmer’s successor will be expected to stick to the commitments in the plan.
“Andy Burnham’s big idea is to shuffle power between politicians,” said opposition Conservative Party Chairman Kevin Hollinrake. “Not fix the welfare system. Not cut the taxes strangling working families and British business. Not fund the defense our country desperately needs.”
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Lawless reported from London.
