Andy Burnham sets out bold plan to fix Britain’s ‘broken’ system

Andy Burnham has stepped firmly into the national spotlight with a sweeping plan to overhaul what he describes as Britain’s “broken” political and economic system, setting out a vision that goes well beyond his role as Greater Manchester’s metro mayor and signals his growing ambitions on the wider UK stage.

Speaking at a major public event, Burnham outlined proposals targeting devolution, housing, transport, and the NHS — arguing that decades of centralised decision-making in Westminster have left communities across England hollowed out and ignored. He didn’t hold back.

A system he says has ‘failed working people’

Burnham’s central argument is that power in Britain remains dangerously concentrated in London, and that communities in the North, Midlands, and beyond have paid the price for it. He cited figures showing that London receives roughly £3,000 more per person in public investment annually than the North of England — a disparity he called indefensible.

“The current model isn’t working and most people in this country know it,” a senior policy adviser familiar with Burnham’s platform said. “This isn’t tinkering around the edges. It’s a structural argument.”

Burnham wants far-reaching fiscal devolution, giving regions control over significant portions of tax revenue rather than relying on grant funding from Whitehall. He’s also pushing for a genuine national conversation about the NHS, which he argues is being patched up rather than rebuilt.

Housing and transport at the heart of the pitch

Two areas dominated the detail: housing and transport. Burnham pointed to Greater Manchester’s ongoing work on integrated bus and tram services as proof that public control over infrastructure delivers results. Since the mayoral takeover of bus franchising in the region, passenger satisfaction scores have risen and routes that private operators had abandoned have returned.

On housing, he called for regional mayors to have direct powers over land use and planning, arguing that relying on private developers to solve the housing crisis is a strategy that’s clearly not working. Greater Manchester alone needs an estimated 10,000 new homes per year to meet demand. It’s currently building around 6,500.

The politics behind the vision

There’s an obvious political dimension here. Burnham has long been talked about as a future Labour leadership contender, and this kind of platform-building is unlikely to be accidental.

But he’s also operating in a complicated space. Labour is in government now, and pushing hard against a government of your own party requires a careful touch. Still, Burnham has never been shy about making noise.

His allies insist this isn’t about personal ambition. They say the urgency of the moment — rising inequality, a creaking NHS, a housing market that’s locked out a generation — demands that someone says it plainly.

Whether Westminster listens is another matter entirely. But Burnham is clearly betting that the public is ready to hear it.