How will Andy Burnham becoming Prime Minister change Local Government?

On Monday 20th July 2026, Andy Burnham entered 10 Downing Street as the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.  Insight into what this means for Local Government can be discerned by reading "Head North", the book he co-authored in 2024 with fellow Metro Mayor, Steve Rotheram, and looking at the vision he presented in his "Manchesterism" speech at the People's History Museum at the end of June 2026.

What can we learn from Head North, the book written by Andy Burnham and Stever Rotheram in 2024?

"Head North: A Rallying Cry for a More Equal Britain" has two distinct halves.

The first looks at the political journey that the two authors (Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram) have been on, starting with the significant impact that the Hillsborough disaster in April 1989 had upon their lives and the communities that they grew up in.

Both authors have been central to the long running campaign to secure justice following the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans at Hillsborough. This has shaped both politicians, resulting in a wariness about large institutions and a steadfast commitment to ensure information held by public bodies is disclosed quickly after tragedies. 

The campaign has been successful, but it has taken decades. In 2012, twenty three years after the tragedy, David Cameron's Government published a report that stated the deaths "should never have happened" and finding that "there were clear operational failures in response to the disaster and its aftermath there were strenuous attempts to deflect the blame onto the fans". 

Andy Burnham has gone further saying that the families of the fans "should never have had to fight” for the truth to come out and stating that South Yorkshire Police had "consistently put protecting itself above protecting people harmed by Hillsborough".  Both Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram have been ardent campaigners for the introduction of a Hillsborough Law which will create a duty of candour, requiring  public authorities and officials to tell the truth and co-operate with official investigations and inquiries. The Public Office (Accountability) Bill is currently working its way through Parliament and expected to come into force in Andy Burnham's first year as Prime Minister. 

There are two other key moments that have shaped Andy Burnham's political journey. His time as a Member of Parliament appears to have been characterised by slow disillusionment, with particular resentment around the Whip system. Whilst recognising the benefits of coordinating MPs, he argues that when applied too robustly it prevents MPs from properly taking the views of their constituents into account and contributing to Parliamentary debate. Andy Burnham is also highly critical of the Civil Service claiming that Britain is run by "around 50 people in Whitehall", most of them with “London-centric views.”

This dissatisfaction led to both Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram stepping back as MPs and taking up roles as the Metro Mayor for Greater Manchester and Liverpool City Region respectively.  This gave each the ability to assess the impact that Central and Local Government was having.

Unsurprisingly both champion the difference Metro Mayors are able to make, stating that they understand their local economies far better than Whitehall civil servants. They believe Metro Mayors should take on a much wider set of responsibilities including leading upon growing the economy by investing in skills and infrastructure needed to harness the opportunities that come with the development of AI and green energy. At the same time they argue that the removal of funding for local authorities has materially damaged the fabric of society, undermining the delivery of much needed public services.

The other crucible moment in in the political lives of both Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram is the Covid-19 pandemic. Their core complaint is that decisions that had significant local impact were made by Central Government, often without the Metro Mayor even being told and without much needed local input. 

Andy Burnham uses the example of the furlough scheme.  When Greater Manchester was forced into a strict lockdown, Boris Johnson's Government refused to provide an 80% furlough scheme, offering a reduced rate that would plunge low-paid workers within the area into poverty. Yet, just weeks later, when London and the South East required a lockdown, the full 80% furlough was instantly reinstated nationwide— a move Burnham cites as absolute proof of structural bias.

This structural bias he argues is ingrained and has for many years meant that many regions within the UK are "being held back". An example is given of the Green Book, which is argued to be “hardwired” towards London bias, “baking in regional inequality” because funnels public funding towards infrastructure projects that deliver the highest direct economic return, which is easier to achieve in affluent areas such as the South East and London.

How do Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram propose to "rewire" the State?

For the reasons above Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram believe that significant and structural changes are needed to "rewire" the UK so that the regions of the UK are able to achieve their full potential.

This is the focus of the second half of the book. It sets out the policies, which both Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram would like to implement, including:

• a written constitution for the United Kingdom – 97.4% of countries have a written constitution, the UK does not. Although there are conventions and rules in sources such as Erskine May, the authors argue that this has allowed the country to drift into a system where there is serious inequality between different regions. This constitution would rebalance the relationship between Central and Local Government, as well as implement a "German Basic Law" (Grundgesetz) legally mandating "equivalent living standards" across all of its regions, changing the way public funds are distributed in order to ensure all parts of the country are funded fairly and equally based on need;
• proportional representation – Head North promotes the idea of replacing the 'first past the post system' in national elections, replacing this with the proportional representation system which it is argued encourages parties to "fight for every vote", even in safe seats;
• a new era of devolution in which Mayoral Strategic Authorities, Devolved Administrations and other public authorities outside of Whitehall will play a central role in driving local economic growth and raise living standards, giving greater agency to Local Government to choose their own solutions to issues and bringing local understanding into decision making;
• greater investment in Net Zero to reindustrialise the North – the transition to net-zero is presented as a massive economic and industrial opportunity rather than just an environmental necessity;
• utility control – the authors proposed a programme of returning certain utilities (such as water and energy) into public ownership with others being subject to heightened state intervention and regional oversight;
• a post-war-style council house building programme to combat the systemic housing crisis, including many more social and affordable homes;
• a rethink of the education system for those over the age of 14 to ensure young people are prepared for the future economy without being funnelled exclusively into traditional higher education.

Therefore, Local Government is seen as one of the routes to solve long term decline and it is recognised that recent underfunding of this tier of government has caused social problems.

What can we learn from Andy Burnham's speech at Manchester's People's History Museum on 29 June 2026?

Andy Burnham's speech at the People's History Museum was given at a time when it was possible that other Labour politicians might look to challenge him for the leadership of the Labour Party and as such it provides an overall vision, rather than setting out a detailed case for specific policies.

That said, some policy announcements were made, including:

• the creation of "No 10 North" - a permanent, expanded operations centre in Central Manchester which will operate as the nerve centre for decision about regional growth;
• a commitment to deliver a "Housing First" approach, drawing upon Finland's successful policy in which a secure home is prioritised and treated as the initial foundation for health and employment;
• a resounding commitment to deliver a new wave of devolution. This will see Metro Mayors handed new responsibilities and funds, including in respect of social housing, welfare deployment and post-16 technical education.
• the creation of "Good Growth Funds" which consolidate public and private regional investments into locally managed funds able to unlock new infrastructure and support the growth of the businesses of tomorrow; and
• reform to the UK's Public Procurement regime, in particular moving away from "chasing cut-price deals around the world" towards a purchasing policy that acts as a strategic tool for place-based growth, reindustrialisation, and local community support.

Opinion: what impact will Andy Burnham have on the public sector?

Based on what he has written in Head North and his speech at the People's History Museum, Andy Burnham regards regeneration to be primary political priority of his Government - with the overall objective being to deliver improved living standards for people across the country in the next decade.  The public sector, and in particular Local Government, are seen as key elements in delivering this change.

Andy Burnham appears willing to make radical changes to the way the Civil Service is run to ensure Local Government can do more. An example of this is the creation of Number 10 North, which will be based in Manchester. It will lead upon three clear tasks:

• the regeneration of places;
• reindustrialisation; and
• reform of essential utilities.

Andy Burnham is reported to have appointed Caroline Simpson, formerly the Chief Executive of Greater Manchester Combined Authority to lead the organisation. She worked as Head of Regeneration and Partnerships within the North West Development Agency and for seven years as a Director of Economic Growth at Cheshire East Council before moving on to be Chief Executive at Greater Manchester Combined Authority and lead Stockport's successful Mayoral Development Corporation.  Therefore she has a keen understanding of how Local Government can drive regeneration and economic growth, but also what could be achieved with greater investment and powers. Furthermore her appointment is a statement to those in Whitehall that the power dynamic has changed. 

Furthermore, he has brought back Angela Rayner to lead MHCLG. Her previous time in this role saw her push for more powers and funds to be transferred to the regions.

These changes have been made because Local Government is expected to take the lead upon regeneration within England's regions.

What this means in practice is that Metro Mayors, supported by officials within Mayoral Strategic Authorities and Councils will be expected to create the conditions for the best regeneration ideas to come forward, then back these ideas using public funds and through disciplined delivery.  

This implies there will be competition between regions. This will be the case in respect of the drive to come up with the best regeneration initiatives. It will also be the case in respect of recruiting the best experts with experience of delivering public sector projects.

In terms of public funding, it is clear that there is a long term plan to make sure that the regions of the UK are able access similar infrastructure investment to that enjoyed by London (there has long been a disparity in this regard, for example in 2011, IPPR reported that transport spend was £2,731 per head in London, compared to £5 per head in the North East).

If Andy Burnham is able to introduce a German Basic Law, this will mean significantly more funding will be available for large projects in the English regions. Of course, the challenge will be getting such a proposal through Parliament given that rebalancing budgets will mean some areas lose out, whilst others benefit.  That said, the argument for this initiative is that by investing these sums the regions will grow, in time making the whole country more prosperous. 

If much larger sums are controlled by Metro Mayors, then it is highly likely that the public will want to see more detailed checks and balances in place. It is likely that a similar audit system which applies to Central Government departments will be introduced for Mayoral Strategic Authorities, with spot checks carried out to ensure compliance.

Conclusion

On 20th July 2026, Andy Burnham in his first speech as Prime Minister pledged to "build a new economy" by "re-industrialising Britain". Within England, local government will play a key role in this initiative, supported by Number 10 North. This new dynamic will see Local Government better funded, but will require the public sector to pivot into its new role, finding ways to bring forward the best ideas, putting in place robust safeguards around the management of public money and demonstrating that it has the ability to deliver projects on time and to specification.

Alexander Rose

This is an opinion article and represents the views of Alexander Rose, rather than the wider viewpoint of Ward Hadaway.