Andy Burnham PM has already upset millions across Scotland and Wales before he steps into Downing Street (figuratively, at least, since he apparently plans to live elsewhere).
With his various pronouncements, as he tries to convince the people of Britain that he plans on “doing politics differently” from all the predecessors who promised the same, he’s forgotten some key areas.
Enough BurnhamPM ‘polemics’
Firstly, BurnhamPM made the egregious error of referring to the nations of Scotland and Wales as “the regions.” Wales’ governing party Plaid Cymru directly called Burnham out online, stating:
But Wales isn’t a region, we’re a country.
In the same post, however, Plaid found themselves in broader agreement with BurnhamPM — they share a sense that Westminster is “a broken system.” Plaid point out that they’ve been saying this for ages.
Burnham has advocated for decentralising power from Westminster to “the regions”.
But Wales isn’t a region, we’re a country.
Plaid Cymru will ensure Wales is treated with fairness and respect, and continue to fight for powers over rail, Crown Estate and justice and policing. pic.twitter.com/DoQEhiyXUm
— Plaid Cymru
(@Plaid_Cymru) June 29, 2026
SNP leader and Scottish First Minister John Swinney has also criticised BurnhamPM over his remarks in his speech about devolution. Specifically, Swinney criticised Burnham‘s idea in his “Head North” speech that regions of Scotland feel equally distant from Holyrood as they do from Westminster.
Swinney dismissed Burnham’s “lack of knowledge” about Scotland overall and some of his more swiping comments as “polemics.” Swinney told the National:
I don’t think Andy Burnham’s in a strong position to lecture me about these questions. …
Fundamentally, I want the Scottish parliament to be able to take more decisions that will improve the lives of people in Scotland, rather than be shackled by decisions taken [in] Westminster…
The more that these decisions are taken in Scotland, the better that’ll be for our country.
Scotland fears a BurnhamPM defunding
It’s not just wars of words that’s got the Celtic nations riled up by some of Andy Burnham’s early grandstanding. In Burnham’s 2024 book Head North, co-authored with Liverpool city-region mayor Steve Rotherham, he advocates “tearing up” Scotland’s devolved funding model.
In Head North, Burnham and Rotherham suggest binning the Barnett Formula, which works out how much money the Scottish Parliament gets from Westminster. The former Greater Manchester mayor said:
The time has come to tear up the Green Book [official UK Government spending guidance] and the Barnett Formula and replace them with a modern funding formula which works for the English regions and the home nations.
According to the National, BurnhamPM sees the Barnett Formula as a reason why the English regions have been underfunded. He argues that English regions bear the brunt of austerity, while Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland get “protection” from the formula.
There is some research to back this notion up. Cambridge University published a 2018 study titled “Austerity cuts ‘twice as deep’ in England as rest of Britain“. That report begins:
A “fine-grained” analysis of local authority budgets across Britain since 2010 has found that the average reduction in service spending by councils was almost 24% in England compared to just 12% in Wales and 11.5% in Scotland.
However, the report swiftly undermines some of Burnham’s argument immediately after:
While some areas – Glasgow, for example – experienced significant service loss, the new study suggests that devolved powers have allowed Scottish and Welsh governments to mitigate the harshest local cuts experienced in parts of England.
Here’s the crux. Powers devolved away from the corporate capture of Westminster allowed more left-leaning governments — like the SNP — room to win. They’ve then inflicted less crushing austerity on the nations than the Tory-run councils and central government across England.
So the problem is not zero-sum. It’s not that Scotland or Wales get “too much” funding. The problem is England’s ideological commitment to punitive, neoliberal austerity politics.
‘He’s not in a strong position to lecture me’
John Swinney has blasted Andy Burnham’s ‘lack of knowledge about Scotland’
pic.twitter.com/rDd2JD9nle
— The National (@ScotNational) July 1, 2026
Plaid are open to Burnham PM
Alongside making statements about Dundee feeling distant from Holyrood — which have been dismissed by Dundee’s MP — Burnham also polemicised about Bangor feeling distant from Cardiff.
This issue is well-acknowledged, since North and West Wales are notoriously disconnected from public transport links to the south. (Happily, Plaid Cymru have announced cross-country coach connections within three months in power. Welsh Labour didn’t manage it in nearly three decades of devolved control.)
One BurnhamPM spokesperson told BBC Wales that he has no plans to reform the current funding formula. They even added that BurnhamPM would “put Wales at the centre of any government he runs”.
Welsh First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth has said that he’s willing to give Burnham the “benefit of the doubt” over more powers for Wales. This is somewhat unsurprising, since the current Starmer-led Labour government has faced repeated criticism from Plaid and many Welsh Labour colleagues in Cardiff. These have mainly concerned Labour resisting calls to devolve more powers, including over policing and justice.
However, Iorwerth said he is “yet to hear” what Burnham would do as PM to help empower Wales’ devolved institutions. He says there are “signs” that Burnham might bypass the Senedd and institutions of Welsh government. This might not be entirely bad, if it means genuine devolution beyond central institutions.
As with so much in the BurnhamPM aura-verse, none of us know exactly what to expect from this incoming government. We can only hope it’s more than just vibes.
Burnham’s policy speech shows he has gimmicks but little substance
Featured image via the Canary
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