Despatch: Burnham can’t outrun the Westminster bubble on a Pendolino

The Capitalist · Jul 7, 2026 · 7m

Andy Burnham wants to escape the Westminster bubble by shipping bits of No.10 to Manchester. Neil Garratt of the London Assembly isn’t buying it – he says the BBC’s own move 15 years ago proves relocating an office doesn’t automatically transform the culture inside.

Then there’s the small matter of logistics: cancelled trains, no privacy for the journey and a Prime Minister who might need his own ‘GBR Force One’ just to get to work. Our PM-in-waiting needs to focus less on gimmicks and more on the hard job of actually reforming who government hires and how.

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