Burnham to shift PM's office to 'Number 10 North nerve centre' as he plans more devolved powers
The new Makerfield MP said his plans promised "good growth in every British postcode"
Prospective Prime Minister Andy Burnham has unveiled plans to move the Number 10 office to the north, which he described as a "nerve centre of a rewired Britain".
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The new Makerfield MP promised to give the UK a new direction with the biggest transfer of power out of Whitehall in modern times.
Giving his first public speech since Sir Keir Starmer announced his resignation, Mr Burnham confirmed there would be a prime minister's office in Manchester if he becomes the new leader.
Mr Burnham also said the new "Number 10 North" will oversee the "biggest council house building programme since the post-war period".
Read more: 'Summer of chaos': Badenoch warns Britain's economy is 'in limbo' as Burnham prepares for No10
Speaking from Manchester, he said the office would "only be based here", but its job would be to make "power flow into the Midlands, into the South West, into the East of England and London".
He said: "This Number 10 North will be the nerve centre of a rewired Britain.
"It will be the conduit through which we redistribute power and resources across the UK.
"It will co-ordinate all parts of government at national and local level, to agree a long-term economic strategy and help all places set new growth ambitions.
"It will be given a mission to strive for equivalent living conditions in all parts of Britain."
Mr Burnham is expected to become Prime Minister on July 20 after sweeping to victory in the Makerfield by-election.
He also described Britain as being "stuck in a rut", something that he said would take ten years to fix.
He added: "It is time for Whitehall to accept that growth cannot be ordered from the top down.
"Instead, it can only be nurtured from the bottom up.
"It comes from having the power at ground level to make a real difference, from a clear shared vision that everyone can understand, and investors can back.
"It comes from running sound finances, as we have done here in Greater Manchester, which in turn gives businesses the stability and the confidence to invest, increasing their productivity and adoption of new technology."
Drawing inspiration from Germany, the Number 10 North would be "given a mission to strive for equivalent living conditions in all parts of Britain".
The department would also have three "clear tasks" of increasing public ownership of essential utilities such as water, energy and housing, reindustrialisation, and regeneration.
While under pressure to seek his own mandate at a general election, Mr Burnham insisted his plans were consistent with the manifesto Labour campaigned on in 2024.
He added: "The change will be the biggest change in our lifetimes to the way the country is run and it is consistent with the 2024 manifesto.
"We will create a more streamlined state with a clearer purpose to power up all parts of the country and put a laser-like focus on growth and regeneration, good growth."