Andy Burnham is looking to set up a “Number 10 in the north” according to reports that say that will move parts of the Downing Street operation to Manchester
The Financial Times in the scoop says that it will part of the former Greater Manchester Mayor’s radical attempt to shift power beyond Westminster
He is expected to announce the move on Monday when he gives a speech setting out his wider commitment to devolution, according to the Financial Times.
Burnham has always argued that there is too much central power and has proposed to give more responsibilities to the regions, overhaul how Westminster works and reform the voting system.
Reports also suggest that the PM in waiting is also considering devolving income tax across Britain to give local authorities greater power.
In other Andy Burnham news the i paper is reporting his team is drawing up plans to seize control of England’s sewage-dumping water companies, using the model that returned Paris’s water to public ownership.
And news of Andy Burnham has reached Washington with Donald Trump giving his first impression.
“I don’t know anything. I see that he was, I guess, mayor of a town. I hear he’s extremely liberal. Extremely. So that means he probably won’t open up the North Sea.” Trump also said he would not be the first world leader Burnham meets as “we’re probably of a different persuasion”.
