Sir James Cleverly has accused Andy Burnham of mounting a “war on London” as he set out his case for becoming the next mayor of the capital, vowing to “fight its corner” if elected.
The former foreign secretary and home secretary claimed the Government’s devolution agenda risked shifting influence away from London and towards Manchester, Mr Burnham’s political base and the city region he has led as mayor.
Sir James, who is from London, announced on Saturday that he was stepping down from the Conservative front bench to launch a bid for City Hall. He had held the shadow housing, communities and local government brief since last July.
The current Labour mayor, Sir Sadiq Khan, is midway through his third term in office and has yet to say whether he intends to stand again at the next London mayoral election in May 2028.
Speaking to LBC on Sunday, Sir James said: “The fact is Andy Burnham, for all his careful phraseology, is basically very, very anti-London.”
He added: “You can see this not just in what he’s saying but what he’s doing. He’s stripping hundreds of millions of pounds out of the budget of London councils.”
The row comes amid the Government’s fairer funding review, launched under Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership, which could see some London councils receive reduced funding settlements as ministers seek to redirect money towards areas deemed more deprived.
Conservative leaders in Westminster, Wandsworth and Kensington & Chelsea have warned that the proposed changes could leave them facing difficult choices, including steep council tax rises or cuts to local services to close the funding gap.
The former foreign and home secretary said the Prime Minister’s devolution drive would involve ‘centralising power in his own backyard’ of Manchester
Mr Burnham announced before being elected Labour leader he would create a No10 North to devolve power away from Westminster
Mr Burnham announced before being elected Labour leader he would create a No10 North to devolve power away from Westminster.
Last week it was branded a ‘vanity project’ after it emerged the taxpayer has stumped up tens of thousands of pounds to fit it out.
In figures set to enrage hardworking Britons, the new PM has spent just under £49,000 of taxpayer money setting up his office in Manchester.
Of this, nearly £1,000 has been spent on bringing a replica of the famous Downing St door to the headquarters.
However, it was revealed that the famous ‘entrance’ will not even face the street.
Instead, it will stand inside the Prime Minister’s interim northern headquarters at Heron House, alongside a cardboard cut-out of Larry the cat.
Taking aim at Mr Burnham, Sir James said: ‘He is blaming London for London’s own success. The UK cannot be successful as a country unless London is successful as a city. And I see this in Braintree. Andy Burnham just doesn’t get it….He’s got a war with London, and London needs someone to fight its corner.’
He added: ‘It is a centralising of power in Andy Burnham’s favoured place, which is, you know, in his own backyard, and everyone else is going to suffer. And London particularly, because he is putting forward a very anti-London agenda.’
The Government has defended changes to the allocations, arguing they are ‘fixing an outdated funding system’ whereby some of the wealthiest parts of the country ‘benefitted from exceptionally high levels of government support, while communities facing greater pressures lost out’.
Sir James will campaign for the mayoralty from the back benches and is not seeking re-election in his Braintree constituency at the next general election.
He said Tory leader Kemi Badenoch was ‘very supportive’ when he told her earlier this week of his plans to step down from the shadow cabinet, though she would ‘stay neutral’ on the Conservative selection process for a party candidate.
His departure opens up a vacancy amid rumours of a reshuffle planned for next month, when Parliament returns from the summer recess.
