World

No 10 North: Burnham Opens First Prime Minister's Office Outside London

Herz — World Desk · 23 July 2026 at 22:06 · 30s summary · 3 min read

The essentials

Andy Burnham, UK Prime Minister, has inaugurated "No 10 North" in Manchester, the first Prime Minister's office established outside London. Burnham describes the initiative as the "greatest rebalancing of power" in the country's history. He is the first British Prime Minister to govern the UK from Manchester on a weekly basis. Burnham has also relaunched the National Economic Council, a government coordination body originally created by Gordon Brown in 2008. Two ministers from Greater Manchester and at least seven civil servants are being relocated to Heron House, the temporary headquarters of No 10 North.

Burnham inaugurates "No 10 North", first Prime Minister's office outside London
National Economic Council, created in 2008, relaunched to drive economic growth
At least 7 civil servants from Greater Manchester relocating to Heron House
Ministers Lucy Powell and Angela Rayner to work partly from Manchester office
New Office created to oversee both PM offices in London and Manchester

What we know

Andy Burnham, UK Prime Minister, has inaugurated "No 10 North" in Manchester, according to The Guardian. He describes the initiative as the "greatest rebalancing of power this country has ever seen".

Burnham is the first British Prime Minister to govern the UK from Manchester on a weekly basis, ensuring that economic decisions are no longer made exclusively in Westminster.

The office is temporarily located at Heron House in Manchester city centre. This building houses the headquarters of GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters, the UK's signals intelligence agency) in north-west England. A brownfield site is to be developed to permanently accommodate the office; it will be headed by Sam Lister, a senior civil servant who has worked in several government departments.

National Economic Council relaunched

Burnham has relaunched the National Economic Council, a government coordination body originally created by Gordon Brown during the 2008 financial crisis. The stated objective is to tackle economic growth with the same level of urgency.

On Friday, Burnham will chair the inaugural meeting of this council, which will bring together ministers, regional mayors, business leaders and trade unions. Participants will vary for each session depending on the agenda items.

A new government structure

Burnham has created the Office for the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, which absorbs parts of the Cabinet Office, the Treasury and the Housing Department.

Headed by Louise Haigh, a Burnham ally, this office oversees both No 10 North in Manchester and the London No 10.

Ministers and civil servants relocated

Education Secretary Lucy Powell and Communities Secretary Angela Rayner — both Members of Parliament for Greater Manchester constituencies — plan to work partly from No 10 North. Civil servant teams are also expected to be relocated there.

At least seven employees of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority are already in the process of moving to Heron House, including Caroline Simpson, Burnham's deputy chief of staff, and Kevin Lee, a long-time collaborator.

Reactions

The era of fighting devolution is over.
— Andy Burnham, UK Prime Minister, on arrival at Downing Street

Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA union (representing senior UK civil servants), welcomed the changes to government structure while warning that relocation is an important decision for the staff affected.