Andy Burnham, in his first major policy speech since announcing his bid for prime minister, will today unveil a plan to give mayors more control over social housing, welfare, and education - essentially taking budgets currently spent by Whitehall and giving them to people who might actually know where the potholes are. Dubbed a "10-year mission" to raise living standards, the speech in Manchester will include proposals on youth employment, all aimed at "lifting Britain back up to where it should be," which is presumably not still trying to figure out what happened to the last 14 years.

Burnham's vision involves devolution as the centrepiece of his programme for government, promising "good growth in every postcode" and a "circuit-breaker" for the nation. In the event no other Labour MP steps forward to challenge him - which seems likely, given the general enthusiasm for the job - he is expected to become prime minister on 20 July. He has faced calls from opposition parties to clarify his cabinet picks, confirm whether he'll deviate from Labour's 2024 manifesto, and explain how he plans to fix the fact that nobody trusts politicians anymore. Burnham will say decision-making needs to be "pushed to regions and local communities," a phrase that will sound familiar to anyone who has heard a politician say it before and then watched nothing happen.

Burnham has signalled he will stick to the fiscal rules set by Chancellor Rachel Reeves - whom he is expected to replace - meaning day-to-day costs must be paid by tax income, not borrowing, and debt must fall as a share of national income by 2029-30. This leaves little financial wiggle room, which is awkward given the pressures on the budget and high borrowing costs. Reeves, speaking at a conference on 25 June, urged Burnham to stick to her approach, saying it was "beginning to bear fruit," while some left-wing Labour MPs want him to relax those self-imposed rules to allow more spending. He is reportedly considering Ed Miliband, Wes Streeting, or Shabana Mahmood as possible replacements for Reeves.

Meanwhile, Burnham faces pressure to commit to increased defence spending. The government is due to publish its defence investment plan (DIP) before a new PM succeeds Sir Keir Starmer, setting out a multi-billion funding increase. Former Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin called on Burnham to commit to 3.5% of GDP by 2035, telling the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: "Keep our country safe… you're almost like a wartime prime minister at the moment." Given the current state of British politics, that might be truer than he intended.

Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake dismissed the speech as "shuffling power between politicians" rather than making welfare reforms, cutting taxes, or funding defence. Reform UK called it "a lot of words for no actual concrete changes," accusing Burnham of taking "a leaf out of Starmer's book - all talk, no action." Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey warned Burnham has only a "very short window to turn this government around" as the country is "impatient for change." People have heard this sort of talk before, he noted, only to be badly let down. Burnham, for his part, will give the speech anyway, presumably hoping that this time, the devolution fairy will actually show up.