Dr Sarah Ingham is the author of The Military Covenant: its impact on civil-military relations in Britain.
“All you have to do is put your feet up on your big desk and say ‘no’ to everyone who comes into your office.” I
In 2007, that was a predecessor’s advice to Andy Burnham, then just appointed Chief Secretary to the Treasury, which he describes as causing a “feeling of dread”. “As anyone who knows me will verify, I’m more of a spender than a saver. I would much prefer to say ‘yes’.”
Old habits die hard?
Prospective Prime Minister Burnham is oddly reluctant to be in the limelight.
In the same situation, it is unthinkable that Tony Blair would be hiding away, rather than being out there in front of the national (and international) cameras and microphones. He would be setting out a clear programme for government and happily taking questions to defend it.
As Burnham huddles in his “no comment” comfort blanket, occasionally deigning to respond to Reddit, Labour must be hoping that Britain is too hot or distracted by the World Cup and Wimbledon to ask why its 400+MPs are so rubbish that only a jumped-up county council chief can lead the country.
The policy vacuum from Makerfield’s MP (MakerPM?) means that voters must do their own homework on what can be expected when he gets his feet under the Cabinet table on 20 July. Head North: A Rallying Cry for a More Equal Britain (2024) is somewhere to start.
This 10-point plan for solving Britain’s woes was co-written with Steve Rotheram, ex-MP for Liverpool Walton. The Lennon and McCartney of local politics in ITV Granadaland, Our Steve became the first elected Mayor of Liverpool City Region in 2017 when Our Andy conquered Greater Manchester.
The Head North authors take it in turns to have their say. In scene-setting sections before they are Down South and embraced in the Westminster parliamentary bubble, it’s non-stop Scouse-Manc football-music-TV bingo. “Strawberry Fields” “Kenny Dalgleish” “Parkside Colliery/Miners’ Strike” “Boys from the Blackstuff” “The Smiths” “Ricky Tomlinson” “Tetley’s bitter” “Cavern girl”.
Anyone looking to Head North for some insights into the economy, foreign policy, defence or immigration can save their time. There aren’t any. There’s no explanation of why “good growth” is better than “growth”, not least because Mayor Burnham’s job was to spend taxes, not raise them.
Being Minister of Fun (i.e. sent to Culture, Media and Sport by Gordon Brown) was Burnham’s dream job – “I couldn’t think of anything better” – especially compared to being the computer says no, no-fun Chief Secretary. Lightweight, lui?
Both Mayors were touched by Hillsborough. Rotherham was at the match on that terrible 1989 day when 97 died. Over the years, they campaigned tenaciously on behalf of the bereaved and then for a public sector duty of candour. They deserve credit for the Public Office (Accountability) Bill.
As Mayors, they have seen regional inequality at first hand and how their respective areas miss out. In his only public speech so far, Burnham called for Britain to be rewired. Head North explores how Treasury orthodoxy is currently skewed towards rich areas like London and the South-East getting richer.
When Liverpool City region’s transport settlement was £172 million for three years and one Elizabeth Line station in London costs £800 million, the north-south divide indeed looks like a chasm of unfairness.
The Treasury’s Green Book prioritising benefit-cost ratios should be “torn up”. Instead, a German-style Grundgesetz should be introduced, part of their proposals for a re-written constitution. This British Basic Law would change the funding formula for the regions (including ditching Barnett), prioritising equality between them.
The two Metro Mayors argue that locals can oversee local infrastructure projects better than Whitehall. The sorry saga of HS2 whose projected cost is now north of £102 billion, suggests they have a point.
But is devolving power to the regions really the promised silver bullet for mending broken Britain? Both Mayors feel they got a raw deal from successive Conservative governments. Boris Johnson’s chaotic Covid response and Rishi Sunak’s abrupt ending of HS2 are detailed. Rotheram’s loathing of any Tory, apart from Michael Heseltine, is flinch-making.
Head North should be renamed Stay North. Burnham admits that as an MP, Westminster was “way outside my comfort zone”. The time-wasting No.10 North suggests it still is.
In Head North regional government shines as a beacon of competence and can-do. Its mantras are “place not party” and “names-not-numbers.”
Burnham suggests, four times, that there are “50 people who are running the country at any given time and less than half those people are elected.” Is this true? Does it matter?
About to join this tiny cabal is Mayor Burnham, offering the vibe-heavy “hope in every heart” and “good growth in every postcode”. But sticking to Labour’s 2024 manifesto means (lack of) business as usual. Deviating from it demands a General Election.
As The Smiths said, “Oh Manchester, so much to answer for.”