A radical agenda but can Burnham deliver?

It is an ambitious agenda, one that many Liberal Democrats would endorse. Yes, there are some omissions, in particular closer union with the EU by rejoining the common market to promote economic growth and introducing fair voting for general elections, but the idea of decentralising power to spread wealth is very much a welcome one.

The Guardian reports that Andy Burnham plans to set up No 10 North as the “nerve centre of a rewired Britain” to oversee a devolution of power and resources across the UK that he said would deliver the change the country desperately needed.

The paper quotes our so-called prime minister-in-waiting as arguing that the Westminster system is “broken” and that a “more of the same” approach would neither improve living standards or restore people’s faith in how politics worked for them. No argument there:

In his first speech since Keir Starmer announced he was standing down, Burnham repeatedly returned to the theme of a decade of “change” but also set out concrete policies to transform how the country works, beginning with overcoming Whitehall’s resistance to change.

No 10 North would have three “clear tasks” for devolution: to increase public ownership of essential utilities such as water, energy and housing; reindustrialise swathes of the country; and regenerate towns, prioritising places that had been left behind.

This would include overseeing the biggest council housebuilding programme since the postwar period, he said, as well as ordering Whitehall to back British firms bidding for public contracts – even if this cost taxpayers more.

However, Burnham acknowledged that “people can’t wait for ever for change”, as he hinted at an early cost of living support package once he made it to Downing Street. “I heard on doorsteps in Makerfield how people need a bit extra now to help with rising costs,” he said.

“I will do my very best to deliver it, and whilst not taking risks with the public finances, will seek to give Britain some breathing space as soon as I can. People need to be able to look forward to a night out or a holiday with the kids. People need hope.”

This is a very ambitious programme and he has less than three years to deliver it. In doing so he will have to overcome institutional inertia within Whitehall, and find the money to fund his policies.

I don't doubt his determination or his sincerity, but we have yet to see whether he has the cojones and the ability to overome the obstacles that will be put in his path.