UK's Burnham creates new PM office, shifts economic power to Manchester
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has dismantled the traditional Whitehall machinery to establish a powerful new cabinet office spanning London and Manchester, consolidating regional growth and artificial intelligence strategy under his direct control.
Andy Burnham has announced a sweeping restructuring of the British state, breaking up the Cabinet Office to create a new centre of power that spans London and the north of England. The newly formed Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet will oversee the traditional Downing Street operation in London, a forthcoming hub in Manchester, and various Whitehall functions. The new department will be led by Louise Haigh, a close Burnham ally.
The overhaul is designed to make Manchester the primary engine of the country's economic strategy. Responsibility for local growth and devolution is being stripped from the Treasury and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and relocated to the new No 10 North unit. “This ensures that local economic growth policy and regional empowerment are no longer isolated from one another, establishing No 10 North as the dominant driver of the UK’s economy,” the government said in a statement.
Executing this geographic shift will require a massive relocation of civil servants, prompting the government to offer financial packages to staff willing to move. Whitehall sources noted that generous incentives will be necessary to persuade existing staff to uproot quickly. Meanwhile, the traditional Cabinet Office is being effectively hollowed out, with its administrative functions transferring to a new agency named OneGov. Controlled by cabinet secretary Antonia Romeo, OneGov will handle human resources operations such as recruitment, pensions and security vetting.
Other specialized units have been redistributed across the government. Digital identity oversight moves to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport; the investment security unit transfers to the business department; and the public sector fraud authority shifts to the Department for Work and Pensions.
Notably, Burnham has abolished the Department for Science, Technology and Innovation, rolling its functions back to the business and culture departments where they previously resided under Rishi Sunak. Despite dissolving the dedicated technology department, artificial intelligence strategy is being pulled directly into the prime minister
