Overview
- The prime minister officially opened an interim No 10 North at Heron House and chaired a revived National Economic Council on July 24, bringing ministers, regional mayors and business leaders together in Manchester.
- No 10 North will be an operational base where Burnham plans to work at least one day a week and remains at Heron House until a planned Manchester Digital Campus is finished in 2032.
- Downing Street has ordered OPMC restructuring and 'targeted transfers' of some strategic functions to the Manchester outpost, with the office led day-to-day by a senior deputy and the Cabinet Secretary remaining London‑based.
- Experts and opposition figures warn the move is mostly de-concentration—relocating functions and staff—because it has not transferred Treasury control over budgets or given local tax‑raising powers.
- The next tests for delivery are published, costed funding plans, legal changes and Treasury cooperation to shift money and authority, and the government has held talks with devolved leaders while ruling out a snap election.