Today, Andy Burnham will become the first Prime Minister to work from the new Manchester-based “situation room for making Britain better.”
Located at Heron House in the city centre, use of the site has been declared as a “new era of power flowing out of Whitehall and into every postcode.”
“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,” stated Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who’ll spend one day a week in Manchester.
“No 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.”
It’s been revealed that Ministers Lucy Powell and Louise Haigh will also operate regularly from the city centre and up to 300 civil servants are expected to move there by the end of next year.
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“Today marks a fundamental re-balancing of where power sits in our country. No10 North has been set up to drive economic growth in every postcode and put power in the hands of every community,” added First Secretary of State Louise Haigh.
“Through this department, this Government will ensure that the places overlooked by Westminster for decades are given a real voice. No.10 North is open for business.”
This morning Burnham will be chairing a meeting of the revived National Economic Council, involving ministers and regional mayors. This was first established in 2008, to provide a national response to an economic emergency.
He’ll also meet with Business Representative Organisations including the Federation of Small Business, CBI and the BCC “to discuss how Government and business can work together to unlock growth, investment and create jobs across the country.”
“This is a new era for devolution. Never before has a government been so serious about passing on its own power from Westminster in favour of local areas,” stated Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey MP.
“No 10 North sits at the heart of that plan. This is the way we signal real change – and the way we get it done.”
Heron House, which is also home to GCHQ, is likely to be a temporary base for No 10 North, with a longer term option expected to be at the new Ancoats site, which is currently under construction, but not due for completion until 2032.
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Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch responded to No 10 North and recent Labour policies:
“When you are mayor of Manchester, you are handed a big pot of someone else’s money, and you decide where to spend it,” she stated yesterday.
“I’m sure this is great fun. It can make you very popular. But it is not the same as being prime minister.
“Andy Burnham needs to do better. He is behaving like he’s still the mayor of Manchester. He is now the prime minister of the United Kingdom, he needs to start acting like it.”
Burnham is expected to be joined at No 10 North by his advisor, Kevin Lee, the former Director of his mayoral office. He’s believed to be moving to the office after the mayoral election. A number of other Greater Manchester Combined Authority staff are also believed to be moving across, including
Chief Executive Caroline Simpson, who’ll become Downing Street Deputy Chief of Staff based in Manchester.
