𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Andy Burnham’s office in the north of England is more than a gimmick. It’s the key part of a plan to concentrate more power directly in the hands of the Prime Minister. Number 10 North is already up and running, sharing a Manchester office with spy agency GCHQ. It will eventually move to a high-rise office complex called Manchester Digital Campus, currently under construction.

It represents Mr Burnham’s desire to ensure more Government decisions are made outside London. But it’s become clear that the Prime Minister means what he says. He plans to give Number 10 North responsibility for drawing up and implementing policies that promote economic growth – one of the biggest tasks facing any government. In other words, Number 10 North will take on some of the work currently carried out by the Treasury.

It is also taking over some of the functions of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, which is currently responsible for devolution, meaning regional mayors and combined authorities, which are a key part of the Government’s growth strategy.

In an interview with The Times, Mr Burnham made it clear that the Treasury will remain responsible for overseeing public spending, but would lose some of its responsibility for growing the economy. He said: “There’s a job to be done around control of public finances. It’s just the dual job of growth and control of public finances [that] sometimes clouds the growth mission.

“And particularly, having No 10 leading on that growth mission means you’ve got maximum power to unlock the blockages where they exist in the wider Whitehall system.”

Chancellor John Healey said growing the economy would be “a dual mission between No11 and No10 North” – referring to the Chancellor’s official residence at 11 Downing Street. Speaking at a Number 10 North meeting attended by the Prime Minister, cabinet colleagues and regional mayors, he said: “It’s a dual mission that has to become the shared endeavour of all departments in government and a shared endeavour between national, regional and local leaders.”

This marks a real shift of decision-making power out of London. But while Mr Healey stressed that economic growth would remain “central” to the Treasury, it also signals a shift from the Treasury to the Prime Minister.

Number 10 North is run by a government department created by Mr Burnham, called the Office for the Prime Minister and the Cabinet (OPMC). This isn’t brand new – the Cabinet Office is a long-standing institution while modern prime ministers have had a small team in Number 10 working directly for them,

Under Andy Burnham, these have been merged. The “core functions” of the Cabinet Office are now overseen by the merged body, while others (for example, fighting fraud) have been hived off to other departments.

It explains why Mr Burnham appointed key ally Louise Haigh, his First Secretary of State, to the role of Minister for the Cabinet Office. The pair will need to work in lock-step for his plans to work.

And it means that for the first time ever, the Prime Minister will have personal control of economic policy.

Number 10 North officially oversees “local economic growth”, leaving some room in theory for the Treasury to manage the national economy. But everything is local. The economy in Manchester is “local”, as is the economy in Birmingham, Ipswich , Chipping Norton and every other city, town and village.

Many Prime Ministers in the past have dreamed of clipping the Treasury’s wings and seizing control of economic policy. After all, if you’re not in charge of that then how much power do you really have?

But they’ve failed. Former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair once begged his Chancellor, Gordon Brown, to “give me a hint” about the contents of a forthcoming budget statement.

Ex-Tory PM Margaret Thatcher attempted to appoint her own economic adviser. It led to the resignation of her Chancellor and helped destroy her government.

But Mr Burnham could quietly succeed where others have failed. Previous Prime Ministers have entered Number 10, discovered their ability to get things done is limited, and looked for a solution. Mr Burnham, however, seems to have had a plan worked out from the start.

It might be tempting to see this as some sort of betrayal of his Chancellor, John Healey, but there’s no evidence to suggest the pair have fallen out. Mr Healey was probably fully aware of the plan when he accepted the Chancellor job.

Even so, it remains to be seen whether it will succeed. The Treasury as an institution has historically been very good at protecting its position. The Prime Minister may have Ms Haigh and Mr Healey in his corner, but he will also need to win over the civil service – a much harder task.