Just five months after being blocked by Labour's ruling executive from standing for parliament, Andy Burnham retreated to his mayoral office in Manchester with undiminished ambition. He discussed plans to appeal directly to FIFA to host the 2035 women's football World Cup final in Manchester instead of Wembley, emphasizing how electrifying such an event would be for young girls growing up in the north of England. Alongside other regional leaders, he was also organizing a "Great Northern" Olympic bid spanning the north of England and exploring plans to host the Ryder Cup in Bolton, arguing that national sports bodies needed to be re-educated about regions outside the capital.
These bold proposals are characteristic of Manchester's recent trajectory. The city has already poached the Brit Awards from London after half a century in the capital, reflecting its status as the fastest-growing city economy in the country. Burnham served as Greater Manchester's mayor from 2017 to 2026. As he now prepares to become prime minister, debate is growing over whether his municipal model, often referred to as "Manchesterism," can be successfully scaled up to the rest of the United Kingdom.
Manchester has a long history of blending free-market economics with a strong social conscience. Its historical cotton traders championed free trade and liberal economics at the same time the city birthed the co-operative movement, trade unions, and the Suffragettes. Even the Manchester Ship Canal, a major symbol of free trade, required local government intervention backed by working-class support. However, to understand modern Manchester, one must look back to the summer of 1996.
By then, Burnham had left the north-west. After graduating in the early 1990s, the only local media job he could secure was an unpaid role as a reporter for the Middleton Guardian. Like many of his generation born in the 1960s or 1970s, he felt forced to move south to build a career, eventually becoming an MP's researcher. That same year, the IRA detonated the largest bomb in the UK since World War Two, devastating Manchester's city centre.
The reconstruction that followed marked the beginning of Manchester's recovery from industrial decline. A coalition of local political, cultural, and business leaders, alongside architect Ian Simpson, decided to reshape the city centre by demolishing, rather than repairing, the damaged buildings. Led by council leader Sir Richard Leese and the late chief executive Sir Howard Bernstein, the local authority established bold, centrally driven strategic plans that were largely delivered using private capital and significant international investment.
The council focused intensely on transforming brownfield industrial sites. Because the private sector was initially hesitant, the council used public money to de-risk these investments and occasionally stepped in to support projects during financial crises. To attract private capital, the council offered flexible interpretations of affordable housing requirements, sometimes waiving them or allowing developers to fund construction in cheaper parts of the city instead.
Paul Thwaite, the chief executive of NatWest—which has funded several of these developments—and a board member of the University of Manchester, noted that the city's success over the past 20 years was built on having a clear plan that the private sector could confidently back. This model has created a critical mass of housing, jobs, and services, allowing Manchester to retain a significant portion of its undergraduate population.
In a complete reversal from the 1990s, young people no longer feel they must leave the region to succeed. Burnham noted that the city now sees a net inflow of young people from London. According to the Centre for Cities, Manchester retains over half of its graduates—more than any UK city outside London—and attracts almost as many young graduates as it produces. Tom Beahon, CEO of the Manchester-based sports brand Castore, praised the mayor's role in attracting inbound investment, creating an environment where students want to stay after graduation, which in turn encourages more business startups.
This economic success is a clear example of agglomeration effects, where locating similar jobs close together drives growth. Andy Spinoza, a chronicler of Manchester's turnaround, observed that Burnham "jumped into a moving car, and by the end he was driving it." Beyond managing this momentum, Burnham's national vision is detailed in his 2024 book, *Head North: A Rallying Cry for a More Equal Britain*, co-authored with Merseyside Mayor Steve Rotherham. The book, which formed the basis of his recent speech on "Manchesterism," outlines a 10-point plan to "rewire" the country, arguing that better housing, transport, and jobs can only be achieved by changing the rules of the British state.
A core element of Burnham's national agenda is dismantling two key funding formulas used by the UK Treasury. The first is the Green Book, which guides infrastructure spending by prioritizing areas with existing high growth and land values. Burnham argues this system systematically directs transport investment toward the south of England. He points to Platforms 13 and 14 at Manchester Piccadilly station, which handle the region's only east-west rail link and serve 40,000 daily commuters, as a prime example of underinvestment. Burnham has long campaigned for an underground, four-platform "Kings Cross of the North" to connect with a northern version of London's Elizabeth Line.
Burnham recalls his time as Chief Secretary to the Treasury in 2007, when officials told him that no project in the north could pass the Green Book criteria. He raised similar concerns in 2020 amid discussions of reform. While Chancellor Rachel Reeves has initiated pilot projects to modify the formula to favor local investment, Burnham wants a more radical change. He also targets the Barnett formula, which determines public spending allocations for Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, arguing that it leaves the north of England squeezed in a financial "pincer."
To address regional inequality, Burnham points to Germany's "Basic Law," which mandates "equivalent living standards" across all regions. He argues that a similar legal framework in the UK would protect local government and guarantee regions a voice in long-term national decisions. His constitutional proposals include introducing proportional representation, replacing the House of Lords with a "Senate of the Nations and the Regions," and devolving control over major public services to regional governments.
On environmental policy, Burnham advocates for a "Northern Way" to Net Zero, which would subsidize the green transition, fund home retrofits, lower energy bills, and build locally-owned export industries, contrasting it with a "Whitehall way" of taxes, charges, and bans that disproportionately impact the poorest. However, implementing these national policies would require navigating complex challenges, such as volatile global energy prices, household budget pressures, and demands from North Sea energy companies to continue oil and gas extraction. Furthermore, full tax-and-spend devolution raises difficult questions, such as whether high-income regions like the South East would keep all their tax revenues. Some of Burnham's aides have recently sought to downplay potential changes to the Barnett formula following concerns from Scottish politicians.
A major challenge in transitioning from regional governance to national leadership is the requirement to raise tax revenues or increase borrowing to fund public spending—options that are currently highly constrained. While Manchester successfully leveraged private capital for housing and infrastructure out of necessity, scaling this approach nationally remains unproven. When asked whether the Manchester model represents left-wing statism or right-wing economics, Burnham described it as pro-business and pro-enterprise, aimed at helping individuals and businesses succeed while ensuring they give back to the community.
However, critics argue that the rapid development of gleaming towers in central Manchester has left other parts of the region behind, effectively turning the city centre into a "mini-London." Although Burnham has criticized "neoliberalism" and the "trickle-down effect," critics point out that these forces have been central to Manchester's growth strategy. Simultaneously, the local government has taken steps to redistribute growth. The region reversed Margaret Thatcher's 1985 bus deregulation and utilized public funds from local councils, the EU, and the partially council-owned airport to build a comprehensive tram network.
Burnham has floated various proposals, including greater public control, cost-of-living support, small business rates relief, increased infrastructure investment, and higher defence spending. However, critics note these goals are difficult to reconcile with pledges to limit borrowing and avoid major tax increases. For instance, his proposed Defence Investment Plan is funded by cutting capital investment in transport and energy—the very sectors that "Manchesterism" suggests should receive more state funding.
As mayor, Burnham campaigned for major infrastructure projects, including the Liverpool-Manchester Northern Powerhouse Rail and the high-speed Manchester-Birmingham rail link, which he developed alongside former West Midlands Mayor Andy Street. The question remains how he will act on these priorities as prime minister. Paul Thwaite of NatWest suggests that long-term certainty and genuine collaboration with private capital could provide a powerful recipe for sustained national growth. However, he cautions that there is no single blueprint, emphasizing that successful devolution depends heavily on local institutions, leadership, and commercial capability. Burnham once referenced Tony Wilson's famous line: "It's Manchester, we do things differently here." The challenge now lies in demonstrating how that distinct approach can be applied to the rest of the nation.
