Andy Burnham has proposed a “No.10 North” in his first major speech after being elected as a Member of Parliament.

“No.10 North” will be “an extended operation” of the prime minister’s office based in Manchester, Burnham said on Monday, adding that it will offer new opportunities to “extend evolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland by taking power deeper down”.

Hailing it as “the nerve centre of a rewired Britain”, Burnham said “No.10 North” will support the regions on “reform of essential utilities, re-industrialisation and the regeneration of places”.

He also proposed “Manchesterism” as a model – which he says is a “rejection of the old trickle down model” and will see that all parts of Britain be given “the chance to develop their own version of the same”.

Burnham promised to “build an inclusive team at the very highest level” but adding that he will not announce the appointment decisions “until the end of this process”.

Burnham also pledged to launch the biggest council house building programme since the post-war period. He noted that Britain’s housing crisis is having a ruinous impact on its public finances, and said measures will be taken to use vacant public land to reduce costs.

He also promised to reform business rates to better support high street businesses and reduce the welfare bill in a way that is fair and lasting and helps people move forward.

Burnham won the Makerfield parliamentary by-election on 19^th June and was sworn in later as a Labour MP. He is widely regarded as the frontrunner to succeed outgoing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer as Labour leader and prime minister.