What Andy Burnham's plan means for the food industry

Andy Burnham, elected recently as Labour MP for Makerfield, gave a speech this week at the People’s History Museum in Manchester.

Unless a challenge emerges for leadership of the Labour party, Mr Burnham is expected to replace Keir Starmer as Prime Minister, perhaps by mid-July.

This speech provides a view of his policy intentions, at least in the area of economic policy and overall government approach.

For food businesses, the most notable aspect of the speech was the recognition of agri-food as a strategic national industry, linked to resilience and economic security.

What problem is Burnham trying to solve?

The speech – highly anticipated and heavily trailed – lasted around 30 minutes and was wide-ranging. Themes included:

• Current politics and government are not working for voters – As evidenced by static or falling living standards and growing frustration

• Government is highly centralised, but not working effectively – Government departments are siloed and often work in opposition with one another

• Too much resource is controlled by national government – This leaves local government unable to meet current obligations, let alone invest

• Need for radical change – Current devolution will be extended, moving more decision- making power away from Westminster and into home nations, regions and cities

• No 10 North – A new government office, “No10 North”, will be created to help drive the devolution process

• Greater sense of partnership – Between government, businesses, unions and the voluntary sector, at all levels of government

• Future growth will be driven at local level – Economic growth must come from the bottom up, not the top down – “good growth in every postcode”

• Sound public finances, based on strict fiscal rules – This is critical to retain the support of major lenders. However, more resources will be made available to local government.

Re-working government and the economy in this way is seen as a long-term project – expected to last at least 10 years.

What is Manchesterism?

Future policy will be based on what has been developed by Mr Burnham as Mayor of Manchester – “Manchesterism”.

What could change under a Burnham government?

As might be expected, new policy remains under development, but some specific ideas were mentioned in the speech:

• There will be more public control of essential services (e.g. energy, housing and transport) – although full public ownership is not mentioned

• Economic growth will be delivered by local clusters, which will develop and deliver plans optimised for local conditions (like the “Cambridge Cluster”, which focuses on technology)

• National production and self-sufficiency in strategic activities will be protected – these include steel, defence and (notably) agri-food

• The public housing stock will be grown through a huge commitment to new building, starting with publicly-owned land

• Focus on developing technical education and training, with support for moving young adults into the workplace

What could this mean for food businesses?

Food and agri-food were identified as strategic national industries, alongside sectors such as steel and defence.

This suggests future policy could place greater emphasis on domestic resilience, production capability and the strategic importance of the food system.

The emphasis on local growth and regional decision-making could also create new opportunities for businesses to engage with regional authorities and local growth initiatives.

What questions remain?

The speech focused on economics and ways-of-working. Other big issues – health, crime, tax, benefits and so on were not addressed.

Mr Burnham identified the UK’s key problems as persistently weak economic growth, and stagnant household wealth.

Few would argue with that assessment. However, without more detail, it is difficult to judge whether his proposed model can deliver stronger growth and reduce regional inequalities.

Devolution is not a new idea. Home nations and major cities have gradually gained greater economic and fiscal powers, but the economic benefit in terms of growth and regional inequalities has been hard to identify so far.

The speech also said little about global trade, international competitiveness or wider technological drivers of growth such as AI, robotics and biotechnology

For food businesses, the recognition of agri-food as a strategic national asset is one of the most significant signals from the speech.

However, questions remain about how existing national initiatives, including the Industrial Strategy and Land Use Framework, would fit within a more devolved model of government.

It may be that “Manchesterism” gives agri-food businesses greater flexibility to work with regional partners and shape local economic priorities. If so, businesses may need to adapt alongside government as responsibilities become more decentralised.