Burnham is widely expected to become prime minister next month.
Burnham will lay out plans on Monday (Image: Getty)
Andy Burnham is expected to set out an ambitious economic plan that would devolve power to mayors in a bid to get people back into employment. The man many believe will become the next prime minister will lay out his vision in a speech on Monday in which he will address his plan to reduce the country’s ballooning welfare bill.
As part of his plans for a decade of Labour government, the Makerfield MP will pledge to “rewire” Britain’s economy by giving it the “circuit-breaker it needs”. The flagship proposal will create a “No 10” in the North and ambitions for “good growth in every postcode” with what allies say is the biggest transfer of power out of Whitehall in modern times.
Burnham is currently on the only candidate in the Labour leadership election (Image: Getty)
In a sign he hopes to fight and win at least two general elections, the Labour leadership frontrunner will set out a “10-year mission” to raise living standards through reindustrialisation, housing, infrastructure and reform of essential utilities.
The former metro mayor will call for decision-making to be pushed back into local communities as part of his vision to “lift Britain back up”.
Mr Burnham, who served as a minister and on the Opposition frontbench before becoming a regional mayor in 2017, will suggest his generation of politicians – himself included – must take responsibility for the loss of public trust in politics.
He is expected to commit to public procurement reform which will centre on “buying British” in a bid to revive industry and in turn secure more “social value” in the form of work placements and apprenticeships.
Education reforms are also to be unveiled aimed at delivering what his team describe as “true parity” between the academic and the technical – a balance which outgoing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has also sought to focus on while in government.
A long-standing proponent of devolution, Mr Burnham will set out plans to boost economic growth by giving regional mayors more control over social housing, welfare and post-16 education, according to The Times.
He is said to want local leaders to play a stronger role in helping young people get off benefits having spoken to Alan Milburn, who is carrying out a review into unemployment among 16-to-24-year-olds, according to the paper.
Such an agenda would be in line with the views he set out in his book, Head North, alongside his friend and fellow mayor Steve Rotheram.
In the book, he said the current system saw regional leaders going “on bended knee” to Westminster and called for a “more balanced approach, where councils and mayors were dealt some cards too”.
Mr Burnham is also expected to announce plans to move part of his prime ministerial operation to the North of England as part of efforts to push power out of Whitehall and into the regions with a “No 10 North.”
If the former Greater Manchester mayor remains the only candidate for the Labour leadership, his speech will come exactly three weeks before he enters Downing Street.