Burnham launches fiscal devolution plan for England

On August 4, 2026, Prime Minister Andy Burnham unveiled a set of fiscal devolution initiatives aimed at England's municipal authorities. According to the government, the goal is to balance power and resources that have been concentrated in London and the South East. The creation of the \"No 10 North\" in Manchester symbolizes the ambition to make Manchester the administrative hub of the project.

Fiscal devolution for English authorities

The proposals released the previous week envisage transferring financial resources directly to English regional authorities, allowing municipalities such as Manchester to administer local policies with greater autonomy. This measure aligns with the core logic of Burnham's government, which seeks to decentralise decisions that were previously made almost exclusively in Westminster.

Reaction in the devolved nations

Outside England, the picture is less clear. The elections held in Scotland and, particularly, in Wales were described as a disaster for the Labour Party and for Burnham’s predecessor, Sir Keir Starmer. Currently, progressive nationalist parties govern each of the devolved nations. Initial meetings with John Swinney, Scotland’s First Minister, and Rhun ap Iorwerth, Wales’s First Minister, were reported as positive by both sides.

Challenge of balancing autonomy and institutional respect

Burnham’s government faces the dilemma of combining the conviction that power should be devolved as locally as possible with the need to respect the status and prerogatives of the national administrations. The prime minister stated that \"the people of Dundee and Bangor feel just as distant from Holyrood and the Senedd as they do from Westminster\". This remark suggests that Westminster should not assume the right to bypass the devolved administrations when seeking solutions.

Sir Keir, for his part, warned ministers not to be \"overly deferential\" to the Scottish and Welsh governments, a stance that, according to the text, did not boost Labour’s popularity in those territories.

Inequalities between regions and calls for adjustment

Wales has a population comparable to Greater Manchester, yet the Welsh government does not have, for example, the powers that the English municipal authority holds over policing. If Burnham’s devolution logic is applied consistently, this discrepancy should be corrected. Moreover, frustrations and debates arise over updating the Barnett formula, the funding mechanism that determines resources for the devolved nations.

Parties such as the Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru and Sinn Féin are interested in attributing credit for successes or holding Burnham’s government accountable for any failures. In Wales, the situation is complicated by the minority status of the Plaid government, which the Welsh Labour refused to support and has yet to pass a budget.

Possible steps to build trust

One move that could strengthen confidence would be the revocation of controversial powers granted by the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020, a post-Brexit law that allows London to allocate resources across various areas of public policy. The Institute for Government suggested that Burnham could instead fund the devolved governments directly so they can set their own priorities.

With information from The Guardian.