Andy Burnham has set out his vision for “good growth in every postcode”. It may seem like levelling up 2.0 – and if so, that’s very good news for the country. Because, unlike his Labour and Conservative predecessors, Burnham may well have a far better sense of how to deliver it.
Boris Johnson lifted the levelling up language from the Department for Education (DfE), deployed during my time there, but then downgraded what should have been a defining purpose for his government to little more than a towns fund. Keir Starmer rightly identified “breaking down barriers to opportunity” as a government mission, but in office he hiked up employers’ national insurance – literally taxing opportunity – in a way that was always going to hit early career, younger workers the most.
With his Makerfield byelection victory, Burnham comes across as more understanding of the scale and complexity of change needed so that all parts of the UK feel the benefit of government. Even so, the political rubber will need to hit the road remarkably quickly, or patience will run out with his premiership even faster than it did with Keir Starmer.
Success needs three key components.
First, “place” and “partnership” rightly matter for this incoming prime minister. Whitehall’s top-down, one size fits all approach cannot deal with complex realities on the ground. Change is delivered by local actors working together, not in isolation, something government departments find it hard to do in the fiscal hunger-games world they inhabit. The DfE “opportunity areas” I introduced as education secretary were about allowing local education leaders to shape their own unique blend of priorities, rather than simply having to follow DfE initiatives. They worked in partnership with the local NHS, local government and business and community groups, coupled with direct support from DfE officials. Together, they tailored collectively owned plans to lift education outcomes.
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Burnham’s No 10 North proposal could be a key means by which the Whitehall machine is similarly disrupted for the better. Coupled with his radical devolution plans, it could be a welcome and dramatic handing over of power away from Whitehall and out towards communities across the country, empowering them to shape their own solutions. And it’s how Burnham can demonstrate to our other great regions that they are a central part of his thinking and actions too.
Second, Burnham needs to unleash the real “opportunity engines” this country has – businesses. Through my social mobility work with The Purpose Coalition, I know how much businesses flourish through the partnerships that Burnham talks about so passionately.
Take the Yeovil-based helicopter manufacturer, Leonardo. It is the backbone of the south-west regional economy, and has created thousands of highly skilled opportunities. Working hand in hand with the local education system, it has ensured that local people can take advantage of career opportunities on their doorstep. This symbiotic relationship between community and company hasn’t just helped the company succeed, it’s also why this kind of helicopter manufacturing capacity still exists in the UK today. No skills, no sector.
There are plenty of other examples of great businesses driving social mobility in the communities that can benefit the most. Burnham should seek them out. And he should consider how we can measure success and impact – separating the talkers from the doers. It’s time to differentiate between those anchor businesses that act as genuine engines of social mobility and those that don’t.
The final challenge may be the hardest: reforming the Treasury while keeping the confidence of the City. “Good growth in every postcode” is a public finances strategy as much as an economic and social strategy. Lives on track contribute to the public purse, lives off track cost us all. The Treasury must reform to properly value investment in “lives on track”, instead of simply trying to minimise the cost of lives off track. It needs to pivot to a prevention first approach to social investment. It needs to effectively measure good growth, not just growth. Otherwise, how can a Burnham government know if it has succeeded? It’s striking how little innovation we have seen from the Treasury in tax policy, whether that’s business rates – stuck in limbo for years – corporate taxes, VAT, or even how devolution might enable regions to hold on to some of the financial savings that come from keeping their communities on track. And while it has constantly pushed other departments to devolve their policy and their budgets, the Treasury has steadfastly not walked the talk itself. It’s time for that to change.
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There are lots of challenges for a Burnham premiership, but his vision presents a huge opportunity to turn Britain’s fortunes round. “Good growth in every postcode”? Bring it on; now it’s time for delivery.
