90 Labour MPs Demand Dedicated Manchester Base for Industrial Policy

A group of more than 90 Labour backbench members of parliament has warned that Prime Minister Andy Burnham's industrial agenda will fail unless it is coordinated directly from his office in Manchester.

The MPs released a briefing paper arguing that the state has suffered from decades of deindustrialisation and deregulation, leaving it without the detailed knowledge of industry required for a successful recovery plan. The document states that the government has lost capacity and developed behaviors that inhibit effective planning. It notes that officials are less knowledgeable about the economy and businesses, and they are slow to make decisions.

The group is urging Burnham to pass a Reindustrialisation Act. This legislation would set clear targets for creating jobs by rebuilding manufacturing capacity and would hold ministers accountable for meeting those goals. The paper also recommends that First Secretary Louise Haigh oversee the effort. It proposes that the initiative be based at No 10 North, the prime minister's outpost in Manchester, which he established in July.

The backbenchers further suggest that the National Wealth Fund should be transformed into a Reindustrialisation Development Corporation. This body would focus its capital on rebuilding UK industry rather than its current broader investment mandate.

Andy MacNae, the MP for Rossendale and Darwen and chair of the group, expressed confidence in the commitment of Burnham and Chancellor John Healey. However, he identified an inertia within the civil service and economic orthodoxy that treats growth policy as primarily about cities that are already performing well. MacNae stated that reindustrialisation must deliver jobs to places that need them most and produce goods that provide national resilience. He cited the recent nationalisation of British Steel as evidence that the effort spans procurement and education.

Steve Yemm, MP for Mansfield, noted that other nations are reindustrialising while some in Whitehall still view industrial policy as dangerous nostalgia. Lorraine Beavers, MP for Blackpool North and Fleetwood, cautioned that Whitehall does not fix problems unless explicitly told to do so.

The government's industrial strategy, published under Keir Starmer, identified eight sectors for growth, including advanced manufacturing, clean energy, and defence. Healey, who will deliver his first budget on Wednesday, promised a new age of industrialisation in his conference speech last month.