Burnham shifts UK economic power to new Manchester hub

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has launched "No 10 North" in Manchester, a new executive hub designed to strip the Treasury and Whitehall of their traditional grip on regional economic and devolution policy. The operation is already active, overseen by First Secretary of State Louise Haigh.

Haigh will lead the newly created Office for the Prime Minister and the Cabinet (OPMC). This body consolidates control of Downing Street, the Cabinet Office, No 10 North and a dedicated AI Taskforce under a single minister.

The initial base for the northern hub is Heron House in central Manchester, a building that also houses GCHQ and is currently guarded by specialist police. Its permanent home will be a government "Digital Campus" under construction in the Ancoats district, though completion is not expected until 2032.

A blueprint published on Tuesday by the Re:State think tank, which Burnham was involved with until he became prime minister, outlines plans to staff the hub with around 300 people within 18 months. Civil servants in London are being offered relocation packages to transfer from the Treasury, the Cabinet Office, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

The new branch is also absorbing talent from Burnham’s former mayoral team at the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, with at least three senior figures already agreeing to make the move. Additional hires will be drawn directly from across Greater Manchester and the wider North of England.

Economic implications

The creation of No 10 North represents a fundamental shift in how the UK economy is administered. By moving strategic decisions on devolution and local growth out of London, the government is attempting to break the capital's long-standing dominance over public investment and regional development.

Chancellor John Healey and Housing Minister Angela Rayner will retain some functions in their respective departments, but the core levers of local economic growth will now be pulled from Manchester. "No 10 North will be a dominant driver of the UK's economy," Baroness Angela Smith, Leader of the House of Lords, said during the announcement.

For businesses and investors, the move signals a multi-decade restructuring of state infrastructure and spending priorities. The 2032 completion date for the permanent Digital Campus underscores that this is a long-term commitment to rebalancing the British economy away from the South East.