90 MPs: Burnham's industrial plan fails without Manchester command center

A group of more than 90 Labour backbench members of parliament has issued a warning that the government’s industrial revival will fail unless it is managed from a dedicated base in Manchester. The MPs argue that the current structure leaves the state too slow and uninformed to execute the necessary economic shifts.

The pressure comes as the government prepares for its first major fiscal test. John Healey, the Chancellor, delivers his first budget on Wednesday. In a speech at Labour’s conference last month, Healey pledged to usher in a "new age of industrialisation" as part of a strategy for "good growth in every postcode."

The backbench group’s briefing paper, seen by The Guardian, asserts that decades of deregulation have stripped the government of detailed industrial knowledge. It claims the state has become less knowledgeable about the economy and slower to make decisions. "The state has lost capacity and has acquired a worrying set of behaviours which will inhibit reindustrialisation," the paper states.

The group is demanding the passage of a Reindustrialisation Act to set clear job creation targets and hold ministers accountable. They want Prime Minister Andy Burnham to place oversight under First Secretary Louise Haigh, with the operation based at No 10 North. Burnham established that Manchester outpost in July, and it has already absorbed some growth policy responsibilities.

The paper also proposes converting the National Wealth Fund into a Reindustrialisation Development Corporation. This new body would focus on providing capital to rebuild UK industry rather than its current investment role.

Andy MacNae, the MP for Rossendale and Darwen and chair of the group, criticized a "kind of inertia" in Whitehall that still views growth through the lens of successful cities. He argued the effort must instead deliver jobs to areas that need them most. Steve Yemm, MP for Mansfield, noted that other nations are reindustrializing while British officials dismiss the policy as "dangerous nostalgia."

Lorraine Beavers, MP for Blackpool North and Fleetwood, expressed enthusiasm for the potential benefits but cautioned that Whitehall rarely fixes problems unless explicitly instructed to do so. The group’s demands follow an industrial strategy published under Keir Starmer, which identified eight growth sectors including advanced manufacturing and defence.