London: British Prime Minister Andy Burnham began work from the new No 10 North in Manchester on Friday, which is designed to split the government’s power base out of 10 Downing Street in London.
The new northern England branch of the PM’s office at Heron House in Manchester was declared “open for business” as Burnham arrived to chair the first meeting of the National Economic Council of senior ministers, mayors and business leaders.
He plans to spend at least one day a week at No 10 North, which he said would be more than just an office. “It’s not just a new office. Through this place, power is going to flow, energy is going to flow, new ideas are going to come through,” said Burnham, in his address to the staff. “I cannot tell you what a proud moment this is. I think this might be the best day of my life.
“My generation of people growing up here, and it’s true of places all over the country, to get on in life you had to leave where you were because things weren’t here… That is what No 10 North is all about: putting power in every postcode so that people can turn things around for themselves and make changes just as this great city has done and the other English cities are doing through devolution.
“Turning things round because of that ability to be able to do more for themselves,” he said.
Burnham, who took charge as Prime Minister on Monday, was joined in Manchester by Chancellor John Healey and Louise Haigh, who is overseeing the “Office for the Prime Minister and Cabinet” a new department that will encompass 10 Downing Street, No 10 North and the Cabinet Office.
“This isn’t about government working in its old way, it’s about the Treasury, No 10, close together, the heart of government, then driving the same mission from here right out into all parts of the country,” he stressed.
“I said I wanted to get Britain believing again. Today is a day where we hopefully can really build that sense, get Britain hoping again. I think we can do that together if we carry on working in this way,” he added.
Following ministerial meetings, Burnham’s first day as PM in No 10 North will also include talks with business leaders, including representatives of the Federation of Small Business, the Confederation of British Industry and the British Chambers of Commerce, about how to generate growth and investment.
At the end of his first week at the helm of a new Labour Party administration, Burnham has made a series of interventions including announcing a 20 per cent cut in business rates for pubs and clubs from April next year and capping bus fares at 2 pounds as part of his pledge to lead a “cost-of-living government.”
