Burnham Pitches Business and Mayors on Growth Before October Budget

Andy Burnham will host business leaders, entrepreneurs and local mayors at Downing Street on Monday to pitch his government as a "partner for growth". The meeting, reported on 13 September, puts the prime minister face to face with business and investors six weeks before his government's first budget The Guardian.

The guest list has two parts. Burnham will first hold a roundtable with entrepreneurs including the founders of Octopus Energy, Revolut and Starling Bank and Oxford Quantum Circuits. He will then host a reception at No 10 for the chief executives of HSBC, Aviva, Standard Chartered, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, BT, Vodafone, BP, Shell, Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems, alongside regional mayors.

Chancellor John Healey will join the effort. He and Burnham are preparing for their first budget — the yearly plan for taxes and public spending — on 28 October.

Burnham has promised to "reindustrialise Britain" by rebuilding factories and industry through a closer partnership with business. He became Britain's seventh prime minister in a decade on Monday, July 20 Reuters. He said a central theme would be moving power from central government to regional leaders.

That promise on devolution, the transfer of decisions out of London, already has a base. The new 'No. 10 North' will sit in Manchester. Burnham will be the first prime minister to work from there, and has said the "days of power being hoarded in SW1 are over" Gov.uk. As he marked the first month of No 10 North, the government said Whitehall officials will work inside mayors' offices. It also said mayors will get a share of income tax. Burnham wants mayors to have more control over social housing, welfare and education. He set out the plan in a statement to the House of Commons on 1 September 2026.

He confirmed earlier in the summer that he would run to be prime minister. He said he would drive 'good growth' and restore hope as part of his vision for Britain.

The broader context here is an attempt to join two jobs that are usually done apart. Devolution in England has often meant new structures and funding pots. Industrial policy, government support for sectors, sites and incentives, has often been decided in London. Burnham wants to link them, with mayors helping deliver growth and business helping shape it.

Looking ahead to the next few weeks, who is invited matters as much as what is said. Young firms in financial technology and quantum computing point to where No 10 hopes future growth will come from. Big employers in banking, insurance, telecoms, retail, energy, engineering and defence point to where it needs support for steady taxes and rules. Including mayors in the same room suggests tax powers for regions will be sold as part of a national growth plan, not a favour to the regions.

In my view, the test will be detail. Friendly language helps after a fast change of leader. It does not settle hard choices on how to raise money, approve building projects, and share public investment across the country. The October budget will show how far talk of reindustrialisation and good growth is matched by promises business and mayors can count on.