What Andy Burnham did and didn’t say in speech setting out ‘radical’ No 10 plans

Andy Burnham had a big smile on his face as he stepped up to the lectern at the People’s History Museum in Manchester, for obvious reasons.

He was standing in front of a supportive crowd who roared with approval when he bounded up the steps and set his speech in front of him – and he surely knew this speech would be an absolute barnstormer in the room.

It was clear from the beginning that this would be a radical change from the kinds of thing we heard from Keir Starmer… starting with the fact Burnham was willing to literally call for ‘radical change’.

When I spoke to Starmer just under six months ago, he told me directly he is ‘fed up’ with politicians who use that phrase.

He said: ‘Liz Truss thought she’d have a radical change by taking no notice of the financial institutions that create stability.

‘Everybody paid the price, and I’m not going to inflict that kind of experiment on people ever again.’

I remember thinking at the time that this felt like a misreading of the public mood – the rise of Reform UK and the Green Party shows people think the country has fundamental issues that require a drastic solution.

Compare that with Burnham’s words today: ‘Westminster and Whitehall are set up for conflict, and they require radical change if the country is to get back on track.’

This would involve no less than the ‘biggest rebalancing of power our country has seen’, through an ambitious programme of devolution.

Under Burnham, that effort would be led from an ‘extended operation’ of No 10 Downing Street based in Manchester – which he dubbed No 10 North, but I think deserves the name of the most famous northern Number 10: The Kabin.

Just as that newsagent is one of the nerve centres of Coronation Street, Burnham described this new office as the ‘nerve centre of a rewired Britain’.

The Kabin will be responsible for the creation of a ‘more streamlined state’, putting a ‘laser-like focus on growth and regeneration’, heading up the delivery of promises like a significant ramping up of council house construction.

This is another reason why Burnham presumably knew his speech would go down well in the room. The front row was taken up by his fellow Labour mayors, who are set to be handed a raft of new powers.

So, that’s the stuff Andy Burnham did say today. What did he not say?

We didn’t hear the presumptive PM answer any questions from the media. When he finished speaking, he stepped back down from the stage and headed off – reportedly to London, where he will meet more MPs.

That meant we did not hear any hints about who he might put in his Cabinet when he is set to enter No 10 (South) in a mere three weeks’ time.

Burnham joked about this, saying people should ‘feel free to discount the wild speculation in circulation’ as he would not announce any decisions on appointments ‘until the end of the process’.

He laughed as he aimed a jab at BBC Political Editor Chris Mason after this line – but I doubt many journalists in attendance, hoping for a chance to grill the man who will soon be leading the country, were smiling along.

Nor was there any talk about immigration, which is consistently listed by voters as one of their top issues. We know Burnham is supportive of Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s reforms, but we’ll need more details of his plans.

The speech was rather light on details in general, something that could perhaps have been remedied with a few questions from the gathered press.

But there’s no doubt Burnham told a clear story about where he thought the country had gone wrong and provided a clear vision of how he thought it should change.

Compared to the two years with Starmer in charge, that feels like a radical change indeed. All that remains now is making it happen.

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