Britain is stuck in an economic rut, and everyone is looking to the regions for a spark. Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, sits right at the center of this expectation. For years, regional devolution was sold as the ultimate fix for the UK's stark regional inequalities. We were told that shifting power away from Westminster would automatically trigger local growth. It hasn't quite worked out that way yet. If Andy Burnham wants to get Britain growing again, he needs to change his strategy. He has to stop playing safe politics and start taking massive risks with local policy.
The traditional approach to regional governance in the UK is broken. Mayors spend way too much time begging Whitehall for small pots of money. They run beautiful marketing campaigns for their cities, but the underlying structural problems remain untouched. Greater Manchester has seen shiny new skyscrapers shoot up in the city center, but productivity across the wider region remains sluggish. The truth is simple. Glamorous city center regeneration doesn't automatically translate into sustainable economic growth for the millions of people living in the surrounding boroughs.
We need to talk about what real regional power looks like. It isn't just about controlling buses or building tram lines, though those things matter. True economic power lies in the ability to rewrite planning laws, overhaul technical education, and force local businesses to invest in high-wage jobs. Up until now, Burnham has been a master communicator, building a distinct brand for Greater Manchester. That was phase one. Phase two requires a much harder, rougher type of politics that will inevitably upset some local interest groups.
The limits of the Andy Burnham model of soft power
Let's look at what has actually been achieved so far. The Bee Network is the obvious example. Bringing buses back under public control was a major political victory, and it genuinely made commuting cheaper for thousands of working people. It proved that local leadership can fix broken public services when it has the will. But cheaper bus fares don't magically fix a productivity crisis. They make life more bearable, but they don't create high-value industries out of thin air.
The current mayoral model relies heavily on consensus. Burnham has been incredibly skilled at keeping local council leaders, business chiefs, and community groups on the same page. This consensus-first approach is great for political stability, but it's terrible for radical economic reform. When you try to please everyone, you end up making compromised decisions that lack the teeth to shift the economic needle.
Take spatial planning as an instance. The long-delayed regional development plan for Greater Manchester, previously known as the Spatial Framework, faced years of intense political pushback over green belt development. Councils squabbled over housing targets, and the final iterations were watered down to protect suburban voters. This is exactly where the consensus model fails. If you refuse to build the houses and commercial spaces where they make the most economic sense, you stifle growth before it even starts.
Transport is a utility not an economic strategy
Politicians love talking about transport infrastructure because it's visible. You can stand in front of a new yellow bus or a tram extension and take a great photo for the evening news. It makes people feel like progress is happening. But transport is just a basic utility. It's infrastructure that connects point A to point B. It isn't a strategy for wealth creation on its own.
Greater Manchester needs to shift its focus from how people move to what people actually do when they get to work. The region has a massive skills problem that a new bus route won't solve. Thousands of young people are leaving school without the technical capabilities required by modern digital, engineering, or green energy firms. At the same time, local employers complain that they can't find qualified staff, forcing them to look toward London or overseas.
Instead of just celebrating integrated ticketing on trams, the mayoral office needs to use its devolved skills budget with aggressive focus. The current system still funds too many low-value courses that don't lead to high-paying jobs. Burnham needs to sit down with colleges and major employers to radically restructure technical education across the ten boroughs. If a course doesn't directly link to a high-growth sector, it shouldn't get public money. It sounds harsh, but it's the only way to build a workforce that attracts serious global investment.
The housing crisis is killing regional productivity
You can't build a booming regional economy if the people working in it can't afford a decent place to live. Manchester's city center housing boom has been spectacular, but it has created a massive disconnect. High-end apartments cater to young professionals and international investors, while families and lower-income workers are pushed further out into substandard housing.
This isn't just a social issue. It's a massive drag on economic performance. When workers spend half their income on rent or live in poorly insulated, damp housing, their health and productivity suffer. Furthermore, businesses struggle to retain talent when employees realize their wages are swallowed up by housing costs. Burnham has spoken passionately about housing standards, but the enforcement mechanisms remain weak.
He needs to use his planning powers to force developers to build affordable, high-quality family homes along transport corridors. This means standing up to big developers who claim that affordable housing quotas make projects unviable. It also means overriding local planning committees that block dense housing schemes out of knee-jerk nimbyism. Growth requires density, and density requires political bravery.
We must confront the Westminster funding trap
The biggest excuse for slow regional growth is always the central government. It's a valid excuse. The way the UK treasury allocates funding is deeply flawed, relying on competitive bidding processes that waste time and resources. Mayors are forced to compete against each other for tiny pots of cash earmarked for highly specific projects.
Burnham has been vocal in criticizing this system, demanding a single block budget for Greater Manchester, similar to the funding models used in Scotland or Wales. He's right to demand this. A single budget would allow the region to plan for the long term rather than living hand-to-mouth on short-term Westminster grants.
But waiting for Whitehall to willingly hand over the keys to the treasury is a losing strategy. Burnham needs to find creative ways to raise capital locally. This could mean introducing local infrastructure levies on major commercial developments or exploring regional bond issuances to fund green energy projects. If you want true independence from Westminster, you have to stop relying entirely on Westminster's checkbook.
Stop chasing every industry and pick your winners
One of the biggest mistakes in regional economic policy is trying to be everything to everyone. Look at the strategy documents of almost any UK city region. They all claim to be global hubs for life sciences, digital technology, advanced manufacturing, and the green economy. It's pure fantasy. No single region has the resources to lead in every single sector.
Greater Manchester needs to be brutally honest about its genuine competitive advantages. The region has world-class strengths in materials science, thanks to institutions like the University of Manchester and its pioneering work on graphene. It also has a thriving digital and media cluster in Salford and the city center.
Burnham needs to back these specific sectors with everything the region has. That means directing investment, planning approvals, and skills programs exclusively toward these core areas, even if it means leaving other industries to fend for themselves. Specialization is how mid-sized European city regions like Munich or Gothenburg became economic powerhouses. Trying to spread investment evenly across every sector just guarantees mediocrity across the board.
The blueprint for a high-wage regional economy
If the goal is genuine economic growth that lifts living standards, the strategy has to shift toward building a high-wage economy. For too long, the UK has relied on low-wage, insecure service jobs to keep employment figures looking good. That strategy has driven productivity into the ground.
Burnham started the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter, which encourages businesses to pay the living wage and offer secure contracts. It's a noble initiative, but it's entirely voluntary. It lacks the teeth to change the behavior of bad employers who rely on exploitation to make a profit.
The mayor needs to use the full procurement power of the combined authority to enforce change. Any company bidding for a public contract in Greater Manchester, whether it's building a school or supplying stationery, must be mandated to pay above the living wage and ban zero-hours contracts. If businesses want public money, they must play by rules that benefit the local economy.
Actionable steps for the mayoral office right now
To move beyond the limitations of the current model, the Greater Manchester leadership should implement these specific policies immediately:
- Establish a regional wealth fund backed by local pension funds to invest directly in high-growth green tech and advanced manufacturing firms based in the north-west.
- Enact a fast-track planning system for any housing or commercial development that meets strict environmental and affordability targets, completely bypassing slow local council committees.
- Reallocate 30% of the regional skills budget away from generic classroom courses and move it directly into employer-led, on-the-job technical apprenticeships in specific growth sectors.
- Implement a strict "poverty premium" ban on all local public services, ensuring that low-income residents aren't paying more for transport or energy utilities across the region.
The time for soft diplomacy and clever branding is over. The UK economy is in a desperate state, and regional devolution will be judged on whether it can deliver real, measurable growth. Andy Burnham has the public mandate and the political profile to lead this transformation. Whether he has the stomach for the political battles required to make it happen remains to be seen.
