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Burnham says he wants to offer more ‘regional empowerment’ ahead of devolution summit – UK politics live

By · Via The Guardian Politics · Published by Everything Blog

In short

Prime Minister Andy Burnham is meeting with Scottish First Minister John Swinney and Welsh First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth to discuss community-level empowerment through "No 10 North." The discussions unfold amid political friction, as Northern Ireland's First Minister Michelle O'Neill is absent following a DUP veto related to an ongoing dispute over Drumcree. Alongside the devolution talks, Burnham is also chairing a Glasgow meeting of the national economic council to address ongoing economic uncertainty.

Key points

  • The UK government is prioritizing localized community empowerment over transferring furth…: The UK government is prioritizing localized community empowerment over transferring further powers to existing devolved parliaments.
  • Devolution discussions face complex political dynamics following May elections that broug…: Devolution discussions face complex political dynamics following May elections that brought nationalist leaders to power in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
  • National economic uncertainty continues to restrict the prime minister from implementing…: National economic uncertainty continues to restrict the prime minister from implementing more radical budgetary measures.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

Burnham admits he would have liked more radical first budget

Andy Burnham has admitted his first budget as prime minister was not as radical as he would have liked because of the economic uncertainty facing the country, Kiran Stacey reports.

Prime minister in Glasgow to meet with Scottish and Welsh leaders to talk about ‘next stage of devolution’

Andy Burnham has admitted his first budget as prime minister was not as radical as he would have liked because of the economic uncertainty facing the country, Kiran Stacey reports.

Good morning. Andy Burnham is in Glasgow today for a meeting with the leaders from Scotland and Wales and he says he wants to use it to talk about “the next stage of devolution”. According to the overnight briefing from No 10, he is less interested in giving more powers to the devolved parliaments and more interested in promoting “regional empowerment” in their countries.

In his pre-summit statement, Burnham says:

Through No 10 North, we are rewiring the state. I want to make sure every city and region in the United Kingdom…

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