Prime Minister Andy Burnham has arrived in Manchester to officially open Number 10 North – a new centre of government operating from Heron House in the heart of our city.
For those who have spent years arguing that more national decisions should be made outside London, it is a significant moment.
Heron House, opposite Manchester Town Hall, will initially serve as the headquarters of Number 10 North while the permanent Manchester Digital Campus is developed. The government describes the new office as a “situation room for growth”, bringing responsibility for devolution and local economic development together in one place.
The PM is expected to work from Manchester at least one day a week, alongside ministers and civil servants. The building will also host meetings of the revived National Economic Council, bringing together senior ministers, regional mayors and business leaders to address the barriers holding back growth across the country.
The important question, of course, is whether Number 10 North becomes a genuine centre of decision-making rather than simply a northern outpost of Whitehall.
But its establishment matters.
We met Andy Burnham at New Scientist Live in Manchester, where we spoke briefly about the city and its growing reputation for innovation. (The photograph accompanying this article was taken that day).
Manchester has never lacked ideas, talent or ambition. It has world-class strengths in advanced materials, digital technology, healthcare, life sciences, creative industries and professional services. What it has often lacked is the ability to influence national decisions at the point when funding and priorities are being determined.
Number 10 North has the potential to change that relationship.
It also sends a powerful message about Manchester’s place in the national story. This is no longer simply a city lobbying Westminster for attention. It is now home to part of the machinery of central government.
For Manchester businesses and organisations, that creates both an opportunity and a challenge.
The opportunity is to ensure the North’s success stories, emerging industries and infrastructure priorities are understood by the people shaping national policy. The challenge is that simply being located near the new centre of government will not guarantee a voice within it.
Pete Davies, founder of Sugar PR, says:
“Businesses will still need to communicate clearly. They will need compelling evidence, credible spokespeople and strong stories demonstrating how their work contributes to investment, innovation, employment and economic growth.
“That is especially important at a time when competition between regions for attention and investment remains intense.”
There will inevitably be scepticism about Number 10 North. Burnham himself has insisted that it must not become another short-lived political slogan. Its success will ultimately be measured not by the address on the building, but by whether it leads to better decisions, stronger regional economies and opportunities reaching communities that have too often been overlooked.
Nevertheless, seeing a serving Prime Minister arrive at Heron House to begin working from Manchester feels like a moment worth recognising for us here at Sugar PR.
Power in Britain has been concentrated in one small part of London for generations. Number 10 North will not rebalance the country overnight, but it could represent the beginning of a fundamentally different relationship between Whitehall, Manchester and the wider North.
Manchester now has a seat much closer to the centre of government.