Andy Burnham has set out a “10-year mission to raise living standards” in his first major policy speech since setting out a leadership bid to become the next UK Prime Minister.

The former Greater Manchester Mayor pledged deeper devolution powers to tackle youth unemployment, complemented by a “No 10 for the North” department, as well as the biggest council housing programme since the post-war period and the renationalisation of utilities and energy. 

If Burnham is unopposed in his leadership bid, he will become Prime Minister on 20 July following Sir Keir Starmer’s resignation last week. 

Experts from across sectors covered by Browne Jacobson have reacted to some of the key policy proposals. 

On deeper devolution and tackling youth unemployment

Laura Hughes, Partner and Head of Public law, said: “Deeper devolution that gives mayoral combined authorities genuine control over powers and finances relating to portfolios such as further education is a core Andy Burnham policy.

“It reflects what he’s built in Greater Manchester, where he has acknowledged prevention is better than cure. He understands that unemployment among 16 to 24-year-olds is a major reason for escalating welfare costs and tackling this issue begins with better early years education. 

“However, while it’s absolutely right that other areas should benefit from the additional powers given to Greater Manchester as part of the trailblazer devolution deal it secured, Sir Keir Starmer’s government had already introduced a process to enable the wholesale rolling out of these powers to strategic authorities via the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act.  

“Burnham may be able to accelerate the granting of additional powers to existing strategic authorities – and the creation of new ones – but questions remain on whether he is prepared to remove ringfencing around budgets so that mayors are given flexibility to make health interventions via education spending, for example.

“Real fiscal autonomy holds the key to devolution delivering meaningful change in areas such as transport, skills and housing. Without genuine control over taxation and revenue, local areas remain fundamentally dependent on the centre – and that dependency undermines the very accountability that devolution is supposed to create. 

“The Treasury was already developing a roadmap for fiscal devolution ahead of the Spending Review 2027, including proposals to let localities retain more benefit from local economic expansion. 

“Burnham should accelerate this work and be explicit that it extends beyond England. The asymmetry between the devolved nations remains a structural problem – Wales and Northern Ireland do not enjoy the same degree of fiscal devolution as Scotland, and that imbalance creates real tensions in the intergovernmental landscape that no government has yet resolved. Burnham has already ruled out reforming the Barnett formula. 

“A genuine fiscal devolution settlement has to be a whole-UK conversation, not an English one conducted in isolation. Having spent a decade arguing that the centre holds too much power, the new Prime Minister is better placed than most to make that case. But he will need to grapple with the structural questions that have been ducked for too long.”

On renationalisation of energy, water and transport 

Zoe Stollard, Partner specialising in energy, said: “Andy Burnham's commitment to reform of essential utilities as part of his 10-year mission signals that energy policy will remain a central pillar of the government's agenda, regardless of who sits in Downing Street. 

“For investors and developers operating in the energy sector, the emphasis on long-term thinking is welcome. The industry needs policy stability and a clear direction of travel to unlock the capital required for the energy transition. What will be critical, however, is the detail behind the rhetoric. 

“Reform of essential utilities can mean many things, and the market will be watching closely to understand whether Burnham's vision translates into concrete regulatory and legislative action. Combined with his devolution agenda, there is also a real opportunity to accelerate regional energy projects by giving local authorities and mayors greater decision-making power, but that will only work if it is backed by the right funding mechanisms and planning frameworks.”

Anja Beriro, Partner specialising in public procurement, said: “Andy Burnham's instinct to bring key services such as transport and utilities back under public control will inevitably reshape the procurement landscape. 

“Whether that means full nationalisation or the Greater Manchester 'public oversight' model – where private operators run services under tight public control – the legal architecture of how those contracts are structured, awarded and managed will be central. 

“What's encouraging is that the tools to drive local benefit are already here. The Procurement Act 2023 and the National Procurement Policy Statement published alongside it place a greater onus on contracting authorities to prioritise local supply chains, social value and community wealth-building when awarding public contracts. 

“This is further supported by the Procurement Policy Note 024, published last month, which introduces a mandatory public interest test for all government service contracts above £1m that goes beyond cost to weigh up multiple factors including social value, accountability and in-house capabilities before deciding to outsource to the private sector.

“Burnham’s government will almost certainly double down on these expectations, making it even more important that public bodies understand how to use those levers lawfully and strategically. The question isn't whether to embed local supply chain requirements, but how to do so in a way that withstands legal challenge and actually delivers on the ground.”

On public-private partnerships and infrastructure investment

Craig Elder, Partner specialising in public procurement, said: “Andy Burnham appears to recognise the importance of infrastructure renewal but, given the challenging economic environment he will have to operate in and the need to prove fiscal responsibility to the markets, one option will be to turn towards public-private partnerships (PPPs) – potentially in tandem with his drive for greater regional devolution.

“Having overseen the use of PFI in a hospital building programme while Health Secretary under Tony Blair’s government, Burnham is familiar with PPPs and as Greater Manchester Mayor also worked cross-party with ex-West Midlands Mayor Andy Street to explore how private finance could revive the HS2 link between Birmingham and Manchester.

“The good news is that reformed PPP models have been delivering worldwide since the UK scrapped PFI without a replacement, with Scotland and Wales pressing ahead with their own non-profit distributing and mutual investment models respectively to fund schools, hospitals and roads.

“These include features that learn lessons from some of PFI’s perceived drawbacks and can be built into modern PPPs, such as proportionate risk allocation, auditable social value and strengthened accountability. In what may be music to Burnham’s ears, there is also a significant role for mayors in creating the long-term project pipeline that gives investors the certainty they need.

“With the UK having the lowest investment in fixed assets within the G7 over the past 20 years – an issue that can’t be fixed through public spending alone – it’s time to finally reopen the PPP conversation.”

Browne Jacobson has partnered with the CBI to publish a report, Pipeline to Progress: Making UK infrastructure investable, which sets out a blueprint for a modern PPP framework alongside the press release.

On place-based growth

Peter Ware, Partner and Head of Government, said: “Freeports are one of the most underappreciated tools available to any incoming Prime Minister serious about regional growth and inward investment, and Andy Burnham should make an important part of his economic vision.

“Across the 12 designated English, Scottish and Welsh freeports, the evidence has been quietly accumulating with billions in landed investment, thousands of hectares of brownfield land brought back into productive use, and a pipeline of clean energy, advanced manufacturing and logistics projects that would have seemed implausible a decade ago. 

“The government's extension of the tax relief window to 2031 in England, and 2034 in Scotland and Wales, was an acknowledgement that the model works. 

“Burnham's instincts around place-based growth, devolution and levelling up the regions make him a natural champion of freeports. The alignment between freeport governance structures and the emerging local growth plans under the devolution framework is an opportunity to hardwire long-term investment ambition into regional spatial planning. 

“Burnham should bring freeports back into the centre of the growth conversation, and articulate a joined-up vision in which freeports, devolution, planning reform and public infrastructure investment reinforce one another.”