The presumed next Prime Minister of the UK, Andy Burnham, has said that he plans to move at least part of 10 Downing Street to the north of England. Not physically. The door and Larry the Cat are staying where they are. But, in a speech this Monday, he said he was looking at establishing an additional office for his Prime Ministerial activities in Manchester, where he had been mayor for nine years. The idea is to try to rebalance political power in the UK, drawing civil servants and politicians into different parts of the country other than London. Will it work? Can Andy Burnham actually do anything about London's political, financial and cultural dominance over the UK?

The Slow News Day Team

Creator and Host: Tom Nicholas

Producer: Jack Carter

Editor: Georgia Burrows

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Can anyone stop Andy Burnham from becoming Leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister of the UK? No, is almost certainly the answer to that. And yet that’s not going to stop politicians on the right wing of the Labour Party (who aren’t super keen on Burnham) from trying. If there is to be a challenge to Andy Burnham taking over as Prime Minister, rather than him simply becoming leader of the Labour Party unopposed, it currently appears that there is one man left who can be that challenger. You’ve possibly never heard of him. (Or at least hadn’t until a couple of months ago). Most Labour MPs probably hadn’t heard of him until a couple of months either. In fact, among Labour Party members, he polls at just 2%. Let's talk about Al Carns.

The Slow News Day Team

Creator and Host: Tom Nicholas

Producer: Jack Carter

Editor: Georgia Burrows

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Keir Starmer has officially announced that he will be standing down as Prime Minister, and Leader of the Labour Party, leaving the door wide open for Andy Burnham to replace him. Having just found his way back to Parliament, as the winner of the Makerfield by-election, the “King in the North” is all but certainly our next Prime Minister.

But what does Andy Burnham actually believe? What kind of policies would be looking to implement should he enter 10 Downing Street? What is his thesis for what is wrong with Britain right now and how we might fix it? One of the challenges for Keir Starmer is that, while he was able to become Leader of the Labour Party and then Prime Minister, he didn’t particularly have a good answer to that question. Will Andy Burnham be any different?

On this episode of SND, we’re going to find out.

The Slow News Day Team

Creator and Host: Tom Nicholas

Editor: Georgia Burrows

Producer: Jack Carter

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.