Andy Burnham will pledge to rewire Britain and give power back to communities after 14 years of Tory neglect in his first economic speech.
In an address in Manchester on Monday, the Makerfield MP will pledge devolution will be “at the heart of Downing Street”, as he sets out his stall ahead of an expected coronation as PM.
He is also expected to set out plans for a “devolution-first” agenda across Whitehall, with new powers and funding for mayors to tackle issues in their areas.
This could include allowing combined authorities to keep 100% of any increase in business rates that they generate to attract investment into their areas.
View 2 ImagesAndy Burnham will seek to empower communities(Image: Getty Images)
A source familiar with the speech told this newspaper the address was about handing power back to local communities.
They said: “He wants a place first approach with placing people at the heart of things. He wants to see a decade of rewiring Britain.
“It’s about rewiring Britain to work better for the communities that he feels have been neglected or overlooked. Devolution will be at the heart of his agenda.
“Devolution will be at the heart of Downing Street, with more powers for communities that have been overlooked, more powers for mayors. It’s about rewiring politics to work for working people. This is like a rebalancing after 14 years of neglect for these communities.”
Mr Burnham has previously told Whitehall it must remove its “bias against the North” if it is ever to achieve its goal to grow the economy.
The source explained this was the former Greater Manchester Mayor’s “reintroduction to the country”, and a chance to show his values.
They said: “He wants to show the public that he recognises that politics and the economic model and culture that we exist within at the minute that underpins the society is broken, and it hasn’t been good enough.
“He recognises his generation of politicians haven’t met the moment and that we haven’t been good enough and that things need to change.
“This is a real moment for change. This is his pitch to the country, but it’s also about recognizing politics isn’t working, hasn’t met the bar and isn’t good enough for the moment that we’re in.”
The Labour leadership hopeful has not yet named who he intends to appoint Chancellor to deliver his economic vision, but former party leader Ed Miliband has been linked to the role.
This week the Chancellor Rachel Reeves urged the former Greater Manchester Mayor to “stick to what I’m doing” ahead of an expected demotion.
Mr Burnham has previously said Labour’s manifesto pledges not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT will still stand if he becomes PM.
Last year he backed raising taxes on speculative landlords who leave high street properties continually empty, and also supported taxing the warehouses of firms like Amazon. He has also previously urged the Chancellor to consider a wealth tax.
It comes as the Mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram backed Mr Burnham to unite progressives and bring hope back to politics.
Writing in this newspaper, he said: “I’ve known Andy Burnham for a long time. We’ve stood shoulder to shoulder through campaigns, rows with governments of different colours, and more than a few battles for the North.
“He knows that people want politicians who listen – and then act. That’s why I think he could unite progressive voters, while also winning back people who have drifted away from us.
“Not through the politics of gimmicks or grievance but by offering a commodity that has been in short supply for far too long: hope.”
Mr Burnham wrote a book called Head North, alongside his friend and fellow mayor Mr Rotheram, in which they said the current system saw regional leaders going “on bended knee” to Westminster and called for a “more balanced approach, where councils and mayors were dealt some cards too”.
Mr Burnham’s victory comes with his team claiming they are finally winning the social media campaign against Nigel Farage. They believe pro-Burnham content is being seen more than things from Mr Farage, in the first Labour win on social media since the election.
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They say Mr Burnham has enjoyed double the number of views of Mr Farage on Facebook this week, with ten million views between Monday and Friday.
A spokesperson for Mr Burnham said: “Andy is taking a different approach to social media which is more conversational and less staged, and the public seems to be responding positively”.