Governance

UK: Leadership Contender Burnham Announces Devolution Plans

Is devolution the key to fixing decades of failed governance or a recipe for even less accountability?

JUN 29·Updated JUN 30

UK: Leadership Contender Burnham Announces Devolution Plans

Story

Above: Andy Burnham in Manchester, England, on June 29. Image credit: Anthony Devlin/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The Spin

Left narrative

Whitehall's stranglehold on Britain is the root cause of decades of failed governance — five prime ministers couldn't fix it because none tackled Treasury overreach. Devolving power to city-regions like Greater Manchester, guided by subsidiarity, is the proven path to better outcomes and reducing regional inequality. Building an Economics Ministry to replace short-term budget scrambling is exactly the structural reset Britain needs.

Prospectmagazine The New Statesman

Sadiq Khan on X

Right narrative

Devolution sounds great until you look at the actual results: Wales has Britain's worst NHS waiting times, Scotland's schools have collapsed, and Manchester lagged behind other cities in jobs and wages under Burnham. Devolved administrations spend money they don't raise, creating zero accountability and every incentive to blame Westminster. Such constitutional overhaul from an unelected prime minister in waiting is an afront to democracy.

Richard Tice on X The Telegraph

Tom Harwood on X