Andy Burnham's Plan: Tax, Devolution & The Next Chancellor

I think, Joe and James, we should take this back to Monday, which was Andy Burnham's big speech in Manchester, where he really set out, I think, broadly a vision.

And perhaps that's what we should expect at this point in this process, is these kind of broad concepts.

And I will say this, James, his slogan has stuck in my head, which is good growth in every postcode and hope in every heart.

Mm-hmm.

Now, make of that what you will, but it's landed in my ears and in my brain, certainly.

In terms of what he said on Monday when he spoke of devolution and he spoke of removing power from Whitehall and bringing it into regions across England particularly, do you feel you've got a better sense of Prime Minister Burnham?

So, no, but look, it would be easy for me to sit here and be a negative policy Peter, but I don't really want to do that, right? Oh, what? Hang on, can you say

that again, James? Oh,

what? I didn't quite get the alliteration right, but like a sort of negative policy Peter, let's just settle on that.

What about pessimistic? pessimistic policy Peter there we go um and just you know go straight to you didn't really see um you know the hard trade-off set out on the fiscal or economic side where was the detail but that wasn't the point of Monday's speech uh People like me weren't really the audience.

The audience was primarily the Labour Party, but also the public as well, just to convey a bit more of a vision, as you say, Callum, and a bit more of a kind of hopeful message and just to look at that he's someone who is actually excited and up for the task.

Right.

And I think to me, you kind of see from Monday's speech that he is, as we were discussing with Jen last week, in a different league as a politician to Keir Starmer.

And I think you mentioned the slogan that, as you say, has stuck with you.

I would even argue it's easy again for me to be cynical about number 10 North.

And are we really going to have two years or so of rearranging Whitehall debt chairs? But there's power in the idea.

He's at least trying to say that I get it.

I'm going to go.

I'm going to take some power and responsibility back from Westminster, situate that in Manchester.

And he's really trying to tap into, I think, Callum, this sense that the public feel of they lack agency.

They feel they lack agency, you know, and there's this genuine sense of vulnerability.

You see it in the cost of living crisis.

you see it with a general kind of frustration over the lack of the country really changing.

And so I thought rhetorically his speech did the job on Monday, even if I still have massive questions over how he's going to confront some big trade-offs in government.

And remember, I'll end with what I said last week.