Andy Burnham is set to avoid media questioning today as he uses a major speech to signal a shift of political focus away from the South and wealthier parts of the country if he enters Downing Street.
The man widely seen as the prime minister-in-waiting will deliver his first major address in Manchester this morning, where he is expected to promise a transfer of power and funding to the North.
But the clear frontrunner for the Labour leadership is not expected to set out detailed proposals, and aides have suggested he will not take questions from journalists. The Daily Mail’s sketchwriter Quentin Letts has also been blocked from attending the event.
The approach has prompted an angry backlash, with critics accusing Mr Burnham of seeking “power without accountability”. Since winning the Makerfield by-election, he has repeatedly avoided attempts by reporters to press him on his policies.
However, Alastair Campbell, the former communications chief to Tony Blair, defended the decision, arguing that reporters would otherwise turn the occasion into a story about themselves and their own “take” rather than focusing on Mr Burnham’s message.
The presumed next prime minister has already been forced into a string of embarrassing policy reversals. These include abandoning, within hours, a pledge to provide £10billion in compensation for so-called Waspi women, as well as acknowledging that he would not seek to take Britain back into the EU.
The set-piece address, described by supporters in lofty terms as a “foundational text”, comes as Mr Burnham moves closer to entering No10.
Unless an unexpected challenger emerges, he is due to replace Keir Starmer in what critics have described as a “coronation” on July 20. There will not even be a full ballot of MPs or party members.
But despite his lack of mandate, the former Greater Manchester mayor will demand ten years in power.
Andy Burnham will put the South and the wealthy on notice today as he gears up for Downing Street
Mr Burnham will take over from Keir Starmer (pictured) on July 20 barring the unlikely emergence of a rival challenger
Mr Burnham will put devolution at the heart of his programme, arguing that transferring powers and money to the North from Whitehall will help to generate ‘good growth in every postcode’.
This could include tax-raising powers for mayors as well as greater control over welfare and post-16 education.
There are fears the blueprint, being worked on by potential Chancellor Ed Miliband, will mean a string of new tax hikes focused on better-off families in the South.
Mr Burnham has previously backed a property tax that will punish those with more valuable homes, as well as an increase in capital gains tax and a new ‘death tax’ to fund social care.
He has stridently supported a revaluation of council tax that could result in huge increases in bills in London and the South East.
Mr Burnham will also announce he wants to create a ‘No10 of the North’ in Manchester – where he was mayor until winning the Makerfield by-election.
As PM he would spend a significant proportion of his time there, despite warnings it would require a hugely expensive security operation replicating that at the real No10.
Some Labour MPs are nervous at the prospect of a North-South clash, fearing voters will be furious at being punished for where they live.
Mr Burnham will argue that investment in regional infrastructure and technical education could pay dividends in 10 years.
He will claim the South could benefit in the long-run from giving the North more money.
Mr Burnham has backed Labour’s ‘fiscal rules’ but supporters believe they can be circumvented to borrow billions of pounds more.
The former Cabinet minister, who was an MP for 12 years before becoming mayor in 2017, will suggest his generation of politicians must take responsibility for the loss of public trust in politics.
But he will argue that he can provide the ‘circuit breaker’ needed to ‘lift Britain back up’.
Meanwhile, frenzied speculation continues over the shape of Mr Burnham’s Cabinet – which he is not ready to announce.
Rachel Reeves appears to have conceded she will no longer be staying on as Chancellor.
Mr Miliband has been widely tipped to succeed her, but some unions, businesses and moderate Labour MPs have been trying to head off the appointment.
In a boost for Mr Miliband, deputy Labour leader Lucy Powell – a close Burnham ally – said she thought he would be good at running the Treasury. Mr Miliband was her boss when he was Labour leader.
Speculation is mounting that Mr Burnham could also bring back David Miliband, potentially to his old job as Foreign Secretary.
Ed Miliband has been widely tipped to succeed Rachel Reeves as Chancellor, but some unions, businesses and moderate Labour MPs have been trying to head off the appointment
Speculation is mounting that Mr Burnham could also bring back David Miliband, potentially to his old job as Foreign Secretary
That would reunite many of the senior figures from the New Labour era at the top of Government.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has urged Mr Burnham to come to the Commons and set out his priorities before summer recess, due to begin on July 16 four days before he takes over in No10.
Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride branded the emerging plans a ‘disaster’, adding: ‘We are about to see what a real Left-wing government looks like.
‘It’s clear that Burnham will double down on the mistakes Starmer and Reeves have made.
‘All the signs are that he has no ideas other than yet more borrowing, taxes and spending.’
The idea of a ‘No10 in the North’ has emerged as a symbol of the former Greater Manchester mayor’s determination to decentralise power from Westminster.
It has been compared to US President Donald Trump’s fondness for splitting his time between his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and the White House in Washington DC.
But Mr Burnham – who is on track to become PM as soon as July 17 – has been warned that creating a regular base in Manchester would be far from simple.
Philip Grindell, a former detective who advised Parliament on security for MPs after the killing of Jo Cox, said the site would need to replicate the security arrangements in place for the real No10.
That is on a gated street with bomb-proof infrastructure, scanning stations and 24-hour armed police on duty, among other measures.
The PM already has use of the Chequers country estate in Buckinghamshire.
One weary Government insider predicted the plan will be a debacle ‘like every other attempt’.
‘Everyone spends the working week in Westminster,’ they said. ‘It will just mean more people dialling in and doing f*** all work.’
