Burnham speech latest: Labour MP to reveal devolution plan in first major announcement since launching PM bid

Andy Burnham will not answer questions from journalists following his first major speech.

The senior Labour politician, who is on course to become prime minister in three weeks’ time, is set to use a speech in Manchester to set out his vision for the country.

But the Makerfield MP, who has kept a low public profile since returning to Westminster earlier this month, will not follow the common practice of taking questions from reporters following the speech.

The move has drawn criticism from fellow politicians and some journalists already.

Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice said Mr Burnham was giving a “big speech today with no questions from journalists”.

He said: “No debate in Parliament. No scrutiny from MPs until September. Power without accountability.”

But Sir Tony Blair’s former spin doctor Alastair Campbell said it was a “good move” for Mr Burnham not to subject himself to questions from the media.

“Speeches matter and when important should speak for themselves,” he said.

“If and when he becomes PM, Burnham will be answerable to Parliament, not the showbiz-style media coverage of politics.”

As we are poised to get our seventh prime minister in 10 years, conversations with teenagers across the country reveal a generation that has lost faith in government and its leaders. The ripple effect of this instability will have far-reaching and worrying outcomes for us all, writes Chloe Combi.

Andy Burnham is set to address the NEET (not in education, employment or training) crisis in his speech, as he hopes to reduce the number of young people affected if he is handed the keys to No10.

His speech hopes to outline a vision for major reform to the education system, offering a path to all young people that no longer overly focused on the university route.

This will respond to the Milburn report which declared nearly a million young people aged 16 to 24 were not in education, employment or training

Members of the public will be trained to decide asylum appeals instead of immigration judges under reforms to speed up outcomes as Shabana Mahmood pledged the removal of 45,000 failed claimants and foreign offenders.

The home secretary will set out plans for a new independent body which officials say will prioritise cases in the public interest and high-harm offenders starting from late 2027.

The Independent Immigration Appeals Authority will be made up of “professionally trained and independently appointed” adjudicators from a range of backgrounds, similar to magistrates.

The government hopes that broadening the eligibility criteria will allow for a significant increase in capacity and lead to faster outcomes.

The reforms, to be laid out in the Immigration and Asylum Bill this week, will also seek to create a “single route” that prevents migrants from appealing against a rejected claim and bringing further claims about new matters before their removal.

The Independent’s political editor David Maddox reports:

What is clear from the early briefings of Andy Burnham’s speech today is that he is serious about rewriting the “trickle down” liberal economic philosophy that has driven British politics for the last four decades.

The details of devolving economic power to regions, bringing growth to every post code, and living up to his so-called “Makerfield test” of policies which lift the forgotten communities will not be mere tinkering if he is serious.

They will also be expensive and require significant tax increases as well as possibly tearing up chancellor Rachel Reeves tight borrowing rules. Indeed, one of his key lieutenants, Louise Haigh over the weekend hinted at exactly that sort of approach.

So it is no wonder that Mr Burnham is saying he has a “10 year mission”. He is certainly not the only prime minister to hope for a decade to get his vision done. Keir Starmer, who he is replacing, wanted the same.

But in truth if he wants to impose such a radical vision on the country he will need a new mandate otherwise things could get unstuck very quickly. The desire for a decade requires two full terms which also means he needs to go to the country when he is at the height of his popularity.

Today’s speech will not be the starting gun for an election campaign but it will be one which puts Britain’s political parties on notice.

The Independent’s political reporter Athena Stavrou reports:

Andy Burnham will want to ’take people with us’ rather than ‘dictate’ policy to his backbenchers, a government minister has said.

Mr Burnham has previously suggested scrapping the whipping system altogether, and will declare MPs should put “place before party” in a major speech this morning.

Asked if he may be set to get rid of whips entirely, employment minister Diana Johnson – a former government whip – said: “I think whipping can be a positive thing. I mean, it gets a bad rap, but actually whipping, making sure the government can get its business through, listening to MPs, listening to concerns that MPs have is really important.”

However, she admitted the government hasn’t listened to MPs well enough in past years, particularly on welfare reforms.

“I think Andy – if he is the next leader -he’ll bring a culture that I think he will want to engage, he will want to listen, he will want to make sure that we’re taking people with us rather than things being dictated from on high,” she told Sky News.

Makerfield MP Andy Burnham will set out intentions for devolution in a speech this morning in Manchester after he made his intentions to become prime minister clear.

As part of his speech, he is set to insist that there needs to be a chance in how Britain is governed, not just who is governing it.

This will involve what has been described as the biggest transfer of power out of Whitehall in modern times, with decision-making pushed to regions and local communities.

Mr Burnham is set to propose a vision of “good growth in every postcode” to replace a centralised, top-down model with locally driven economic growth.

Part of this flagship proposal will involve the creation of a No10 in the North.

The speech commits to a 10-year mission, which Mr Burnham hopes will raise living standards through reindustrialisation, housing, infrastructure and reform of essential utilities.

He will draw on the Greater Manchester model for a new partnership between government, business, universities and communities.