Burnham in Glasgow offers to work with nations on handing more power to regions and cities

Prime Minister Andy Burnham offered the governments of the UK's nations a partnership on further devolution on Friday 30 October 2026. It came at the first National Economic Council meeting dedicated to the nations, held in Glasgow.

Who took part

Scotland's First Minister John Swinney and Wales's First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth attended. According to the government's statement, Northern Ireland was also represented.

What the offer involves

Mr Burnham argued that "devolution by default" should not simply mean moving powers from one parliament to another. In his view it should go deeper within the nations themselves, so that more decisions are made by the places and communities that best know what they need to grow.

The prime minister said he wanted to develop models of "regional empowerment" with each government, which would let communities use their own strengths. He also called for politics to be put aside in favour of working together. He spoke of "rewiring the state" through No10 North and said every city and region in the UK should be part of that.

What was agreed afterwards

After the council met, Mr Burnham held a separate meeting with Mr Swinney. Both described the talks as very positive. They saw them as a first step in exploring how each government could contribute to regional empowerment, reindustrialisation and "good growth" in every postcode.

The two agreed that a No10 North team, with officials from both governments, would run a policy sprint, an intensive period of work on concrete proposals. Separately, the UK government is to review the issues raised by Scotland's First Minister and respond to them.

Background

The BBC reported the meeting under the banner "no nation left behind". Earlier, on 23 July 2026, Mr Burnham and Mr Swinney met in Glasgow before the Commonwealth Games opened. They discussed deeper devolution then too, saying it could help create jobs and revive local economies.

The government's statements do not yet specify which powers would pass to the regions, or give a timetable for changes. Details are expected to emerge from further work by officials.