The UK Prime Minister has chosen Manchester as the site for his new temporary office, dubbing it "No10 North." The move is seen as a symbol of his commitment to decentralizing power and bringing decision-makers closer to the regions.
However, the question remains: what tangible changes will this shift bring to the northern economy? The honest answer is that it will take time. The permanent base, designed to house around 8,800 civil servants, is not expected to be completed until 2032, three years after the latest possible date for the next general election.
In the meantime, the Prime Minister is working from an existing government building in the city centre, Heron House. The site is also used by GCHQ and features a pub. Security has been stepped up, and workers have been sprucing up nearby Albert Square.
The Prime Minister has been unrepentant about the cost of the move, citing the need to reduce the carbon footprint of frequent trips to London. He has flown in by government jet from the Commonwealth Games opening in Scotland, sparking concerns about the expense.
Downing Street insists that there is no additional cost to taxpayers, stating that the running of No10 North will be covered by existing Cabinet Office budgets.
For business owners, the move has the potential to bring significant benefits. A civil service campus of this scale could lead to construction contracts, supply-chain work, and a concentration of Whitehall decision-makers in the region.
The bigger shift is political, with the Prime Minister using No10 North as a symbol of his drive to move power out of Westminster. If decisions on skills, transport, and local taxation move closer to businesses, those that engage early with their mayoral authorities stand to gain the most.
However, there is a risk of uneven benefit, with analysts warning that the Prime Minister could preside over a two-tier England in which a firm's prospects depend on whether it sits inside a mayor's boundary.
The Prime Minister has framed the project in personal terms, recalling his own experiences as a graduate who "couldn't find a job" in the city. He argues that the project is about "putting power in every postcode so that people can turn things around for themselves and make changes just as this great city has done."
The government points out that it already has around 80,000 civil servants in the North West, with around 700 roles moved from London to Manchester last year. For SME owners, the test is not the ribbon-cutting but whether devolved power and public spending reach their postcode before 2032.
