Sheffield should be home to Andy Burnham's 'Number 10 in the north' - these are the reasons why
The former Greater Manchester Mayor is tipped to become Prime Minister in a few weeks
Andy Burnham is set to provide new investment into the north of England if elected as the next Prime Minister - and Sheffield should be one of his main focuses.
The recently-elected Makerfield MP has long been touted as the front-runner for Labour’s leadership election, even ahead of Keir Starmer’s resignation on June 22.
And as he gave what has been described as his first leadership speech from the People's History Museum in Manchester this morning (June 29), many rumours about his plans to increase funding across the north have been confirmed.
Burnham laid out a 10-year plan to restore standards of living, create growth in every British post code and create cities “where no one has to leave to get on with life.”
He said: “We will bring about the biggest rebalancing of power our country has seen.
“It is time for Whitehall to accept that growth cannot be ordered from the top down. Instead, it can only be nurtured from the bottom up.”
One of his leading proposals is a new ‘Number 10 in the north’, which would see some of Downing Street’s operations split with a new Government office in a northern town.
It is hoped this change will bring cabinet ministers out of the Westminster bubble, seeing the day-to-day issues of public transport, policing and infrastructure failings that the north is facing.
Burnham set out devolution as a priority, giving more power and funding to local authorities to tackle the unique issues they face - rather than being managed from a far in Whitehall.
This will be organised from a new Government base that is set to be located Manchester, following on from the massive investments the city has seen while Burnham was mayor - however, Sheffield should not be ignored as plans move forward.
“If councils can’t fix potholes, what chance do they have of bringing major regeneration scheme to make things better?” Burnham said during his speech, as if speaking directly to Sheffield.
While Sheffield City Council has made great progress in restoring areas like Fargate and The Moor, it is clear that more needs to be done.
Massive stores like Debenhams remain abandoned, while plans for new buildings stall and the city’s roads shred drivers’ tyres.
“Rather than being a marker of decline, shouldn’t we make our high streets a new symbol of Britain’s renaissance?” Burnham added.
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What better way to show that commitment from this new Government than by locating some of their operations in Sheffield.
As the birthplace of football - with two of the world’s most famous teams - home of the World Snooker Championship, and creator of leading artists like the Arctic Monkeys and Pulp, the Steel City has easily earned itself a place on the national stage.
The city’s issues do not overshadow its successes, but with the attention of the nation’s Government on its doorstep it may just be returned to its former glory.
Despite being a former industrial powerhouse, Sheffield has often been overlooked in national regeneration proposals, and now perfectly exemplifies what the loss of steel and coal production has done to many communities across the country.
Over the past decade Manchester has already benefitted from countless renewal projects, introducing ‘Media City’ to Salford - which saw the creation of hundreds of new jobs with the help of BBC, ITV and Channel 4 - while Burnham brought forward an acclaimed public transport network as mayor.
South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard - who sat in the front row as Burnham spoke - is hoping to copy that success, with plans for South Yorkshire’s People Network as buses get brought back under public control in 2027 after his office began managing Supertram operations in 2024 - though it may take longer before it’s clear how all this will join together.
The Don Valley corridor and regeneration of mining land between Rotherham and Sheffield is set to bring new jobs to the region, but again the timeline for what successes this may bring is unclear.
If leading ministers were to see these changes as they occurred, rather than enjoying the effects after the hard work has already been done, it may help guide national proposals and ensure that not only Sheffield continues to grow, but so do towns and cities across Yorkshire.
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And for Labour, this could be the political move they need to restore faith in the ‘red wall’.
Reform UK have undoubtedly built a foothold in South Yorkshire, taking over the formerly safe Labour councils in Barnsley and Doncaster, while earning 12 new councillors at Sheffield’s last local election.
People have lost trust in the governing party, with many feeling it is no longer connected with the working class.
What better way to rebuild that trust than by housing national operations in South Yorkshire, showing their willingness to integrate and communicate with those who still feel left behind by constant changes.