Regional mayors to take key roles in UK policy decisions as part of No 10 North plans

Then mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham (third from left) and other regional mayors outside No 10 in July 2024. Photograph: ZUMA Press, Inc./Alamy View image in fullscreen Then mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham (third from left) and other regional mayors outside No 10 in July 2024. Photograph: ZUMA Press, Inc./Alamy Regional mayors to take key roles in UK policy decisions as part of No 10 North plans Burnham says ‘no one in government loses when power is shared’ as he revives Brown-era national economic council It’s not just a No 10 in the north, it’s an engine for growth throughout the whole UK | Andy Burnham Regional mayors are to be given a leading role in the UK’s economic policy, Andy Burnham has said, as he called the opening of No 10 North “the biggest rebalancing of power our country has seen”. The new prime minister has revived the national economic council [NEC], first set up by Gordon Brown to put the government on a war footing during the 2008 financial crash, arguing that economic growth requires the same level of urgency, focus and collective action. In an article for the Guardian , he wrote: “When I entered Downing Street, I told staff that the era of fighting devolution is over. No one in government loses when power is shared.” Burnham will chair the inaugural meeting of the council on Friday, bringing together senior ministers and regional mayors to put devolution at the heart of his government’s mission. Burnham wrote: “Even though Whitehall departments have set up outposts, decision-making power has remained in London … This is what No 10 North is seeking to correct and, if we succeed, it could bring the much-needed sea change in the way Britain is run. “It is about driving growth from the most powerful office in the land and doing so in close alignment with the Treasury. It is about taking power down and placing it in the hands of people who can use it best.” View image in fullscreen Heron House, in central Manchester, will provide an interim HQ for Andy Burnham’s No 10 North. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA As he becomes the first British leader to run the government on a weekly basis from Manchester , Burnham will face calls to prove that the operation is not tokenistic. Earlier this week, he created a powerful new prime minister’s department taking in parts of the Cabinet Office, Treasury and housing ministry to become the “dominant driver of the UK’s economy” – an apparent tension with the No 10 North plan. In one of his first acts, Burnham set up the Office for the Prime Minister and the Cabinet , to be led by his ally and enforcer Louise Haigh , which will oversee No 10 North in Manchester, the No 10 operation in London, and parts of the Cabinet Office. Haigh, along with the education secretary, Lucy Powell, and the communities secretary, Angela Rayner – who both have Greater Manchester seats – are planning to spend some of their time working from No 10 North, while teams of civil servants are expected to be relo