Backbenchers Demand Manchester Hub for UK Industrial Revival

A group of more than 90 Labour backbench MPs issued a warning on Sunday that Prime Minister Andy Burnham's industrial strategy will fail unless it is managed from his Manchester office, No 10 North. The briefing paper, seen by The Guardian, calls for a new Reindustrialisation Act to set strict job creation targets and hold ministers accountable. It argues that the government has lost the institutional knowledge required to rebuild manufacturing capacity after decades of deregulation.

The document states that the state has become less knowledgeable about the economy and slower in its decision-making. It describes a "worrying set of behaviours" within the civil service that inhibit progress. The MPs want to transform the National Wealth Fund into a Reindustrialisation Development Corporation, shifting its focus from general investment to providing capital specifically for rebuilding UK industry.

The group urges Burnham to assign oversight of the initiative to First Secretary Louise Haigh and base the operation at No 10 North. Burnham established that outpost in July, and it has already assumed some responsibilities for growth policy. The paper asserts that without a dedicated centre of gravity, the government cannot plan comprehensively or execute effectively.

Andy MacNae, the MP for Rossendale and Darwen who chairs the group, expressed confidence in the commitment of both Burnham and Chancellor John Healey. He identified "a kind of inertia" in government and economic orthodoxy that still focuses growth policy on successful cities rather than areas in need. MacNae emphasized that the goal is to deliver jobs to places that need them most and to produce goods that ensure national resilience.

Steve Yemm, MP for Mansfield, noted that global competitors are actively reindustrialising. He criticized Whitehall officials who view industrial policy as "dangerous nostalgia" and called for the prime minister to back a challenge to those assumptions. Lorraine Beavers, MP for Blackpool North and Fleetwood, added that experience shows Whitehall does not fix problems unless explicitly instructed to do so.

The proposal builds on Labour's existing industrial strategy, which identified eight sectors for growth, including advanced manufacturing, clean energy, and defence. Healey, who delivers his first budget on Wednesday, previously promised a "new age of industrialisation" at the party conference. He cited a young apprentice involved in building a new Mersey ferry to illustrate the type of good work the government aims to create.

The MPs' intervention places pressure on the administration to centralize industrial policy rather than dispersing it across various departments. By linking the Reindustrialisation Act to a specific physical location in Manchester, the group seeks to create a visible and operational hub for the country's economic turnaround.