MPs warn Manchester HQ needed for industry

Prime Minister Andy Burnham faces a new warning that his promise to bring good growth to every postcode depends on moving industrial policy away from London. A group of more than 90 backbench Labour MPs released a briefing paper on Monday stating that the plan to reindustrialise Britain will likely fail unless it is driven from the new government outpost in Manchester.

The MPs argue that decades of deregulation have left the state with too little detailed knowledge of industry to plan effectively. The paper claims the government has become less knowledgeable about the economy and slower to make decisions. It notes that the state has lost capacity and developed behaviors that inhibit rebuilding the industrial base.

The group urges Burnham to pass a new Reindustrialisation Act. This legislation would set clear targets for creating jobs by rebuilding manufacturing capacity. Ministers would be held to account against these specific goals. The paper asserts that without such planning, the country cannot achieve its industrial goals.

The MPs want the oversight role given to First Secretary Louise Haigh. They propose that this function be based at No 10 North, the Manchester office established in July which already handles some growth policy. The group also suggests transforming the National Wealth Fund into a Reindustrialisation Development Corporation. This new body would focus on providing capital for UK industry.

Andy MacNae, the MP for Rossendale and Darwen who chairs the group, said there is inertia in the civil service. He noted that economic orthodoxy still treats growth policy as a concern for cities that are already doing well. MacNae said the focus must be on delivering jobs to places that need them most by making things that provide national resilience.

Steve Yemm, MP for Mansfield, said too many in Whitehall treat industrial policy as dangerous nostalgia. He called for the prime minister’s full backing to challenge those assumptions. Lorraine Beavers, MP for Blackpool North and Fleetwood, warned that Whitehall does not fix a problem unless it is explicitly told to.

Chancellor John Healey will deliver his first budget on Wednesday. Last month at Labour’s conference, he promised a new age of industrialisation. He cited an apprentice who worked on a new Mersey ferry to illustrate the party’s focus on good work and young people. The government’s industrial strategy, published under Keir Starmer, identified eight sectors for growth, including advanced manufacturing, clean energy and defence.