Burnham to work from new No 10 North for first time
Andy Burnham will work from No 10 North on Friday for the first time – and has called the new office “the situation room for making Britain better”.
The new prime minister will visit the new department in Manchester – which Downing Street says he intends to work from every week.
Number 10 North is Burnham’s creation and is based in Heron House in the city centre, which is also home to GCHQ’s Manchester and North West hub. The new department will have control of the government’s devolution agenda and over local economic growth.
The PM has said basing economic decisions in Manchester, rather than Westminster, shows his desire to do things differently.
Burnham has said: “For 40 years, power and resources have been sucked into the centre, and too many communities have felt forgotten, without the attention and investment they deserve.
“Number 10 North will change that by putting more power into every postcode across the entire country.
“It will be the situation room for making Britain better – the place we use to get power out of Westminster, into the hands of people at a local level, so that they can turn things around.
“The days of Whitehall resisting devolution are over, for good.”
First Secretary of State Louise Haigh said: “Through this department, this government will ensure that the places overlooked by Westminster for decades are given a real voice. Number 10 North is open for business.”
During his visit to Number 10 North, Burnham will also chair the first meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC), a body created in 2008 which he is reviving.
The NEC was established to provide a national response to economic emergency, and the PM believes this is required now.
He will bring senior ministers together with regional mayors to discuss devolution and local economic growth.
Burnham will also meet with business representatives from the Federation of Small Business, the Confederation of British Industry, and the British Chambers of Commerce.
Burnham to work from new No 10 North for first time
Andy Burnham will work from No 10 North on Friday for the first time – and has called the new office “the situation room for making Britain better”.
The new prime minister will visit the new department in Manchester – which Downing Street says he intends to work from every week.
Number 10 North is Burnham’s creation and is based in Heron House in the city centre, which is also home to GCHQ’s Manchester and North West hub. The new department will have control of the government’s devolution agenda and over local economic growth.
The PM has said basing economic decisions in Manchester, rather than Westminster, shows his desire to do things differently.
Burnham has said: “For 40 years, power and resources have been sucked into the centre, and too many communities have felt forgotten, without the attention and investment they deserve.
“Number 10 North will change that by putting more power into every postcode across the entire country.
“It will be the situation room for making Britain better – the place we use to get power out of Westminster, into the hands of people at a local level, so that they can turn things around.
“The days of Whitehall resisting devolution are over, for good.”
First Secretary of State Louise Haigh said: “Through this department, this government will ensure that the places overlooked by Westminster for decades are given a real voice. Number 10 North is open for business.”
During his visit to Number 10 North, Burnham will also chair the first meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC), a body created in 2008 which he is reviving.
The NEC was established to provide a national response to economic emergency, and the PM believes this is required now.
He will bring senior ministers together with regional mayors to discuss devolution and local economic growth.
Burnham will also meet with business representatives from the Federation of Small Business, the Confederation of British Industry, and the British Chambers of Commerce.