LONDON/MANCHESTER ¨C Andy Burnham, Britain¡¯s next prime minister, is staking his premiership on a goal that has eluded most British leaders: transforming one of the most centralized countries in the Western world to tackle stubborn regional inequality.
Burnham has promised what he calls the ¡°biggest rebalancing of power our country has ever seen,¡± shifting power away from central government and giving regional leaders greater control over spending, transport, housing, skills and economic growth.
The ambition, central to Burnham¡¯s vision, carries significant political risks. The work will be vastly complex, there ?is likely to be resistance from those in central government, and any benefits will take time to flow through.
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