Andy Burnham has used his first formal calls with business groups as Prime Minister to tell employers that this government wants a different deal with firms than the one many say they have had from Whitehall. In Downing Street’s own account of the calls on Friday 24 July, he spoke with organisations including the CBI, British Chambers of Commerce, Federation of Small Businesses, Make UK, Small Business Britain and Startup Coalition, setting out a partnership built around investment, jobs and growth. (gov.uk) Burnham’s pitch was aimed squarely at the places that feel they have waited longest for national attention. He acknowledged that too many firms have felt ignored by successive governments and argued that boarded-up shops, squeezed local employers and thin opportunities for younger workers are the price of that neglect. For Northern readers, it is a message that lands close to home: fewer speeches about London growth, more focus on whether town centres, industrial estates and local high streets can actually get moving again. (gov.uk)

The offer itself was simple enough on paper: greater certainty, clearer long-term direction, faster decisions and a stronger business voice when policy is being made. Burnham told representative bodies that firms need stable ground if they are going to plan, invest and hire with confidence during a rougher global trading period. (gov.uk) What gives the announcement its Northern edge is the promise that more of those decisions will be taken closer to the ground. The government says over-centralised decision-making has held back investment and regeneration, and Burnham has tied that argument to the creation of No10 North, which ministers describe as a new centre for devolution and local growth rather than another layer of SW1 control. (gov.uk)

There is also an immediate measure for hospitality and town-centre businesses to look at. On 23 July, the government announced a 20% cut in business rates bills for pubs, social clubs and live music venues in England from April 2027, with ministers saying nearly 32,000 venues will benefit and the typical pub will save about £1,100 next year. That sits on top of the 15% relief already in place for 2026/27. (gov.uk) That matters well beyond the balance sheet. In many Northern towns, the pub, the working men’s club and the small music room are not side issues in the local economy; they are part of what keeps a place busy after dark and gives younger people somewhere to work, play and meet. Burnham is plainly trying to show that backing business does not just mean boardrooms and big investors, but the venues and employers people see on the high street every day. (gov.uk)

But the Prime Minister’s message came with an ask of his own. He wants employers to work more closely with government on youth unemployment, skills shortages and living standards, arguing that too many young people are leaving school unready for the workplace and too many firms are struggling to recruit. Downing Street said restoring that first rung into work will be one of the first big tests of the new partnership. (gov.uk) Burnham put it bluntly in the government release: when a local business shuts its doors, a community loses more than a shopfront. It loses jobs, confidence and another route in for young people trying to get started. That is likely to resonate in parts of the North where apprenticeships, further education and decent entry-level work are still seen as the difference between a town holding on and a town slipping back. (gov.uk)

He is also trying to draw a line between being pro-business and being hands-off. Alongside warmer language towards employers, the government says it will step in more forcefully where markets and regulators are not giving working people a fair deal, naming energy, water and other essential services as areas where standards must rise. At the same time, Burnham said he wants to reduce the frictions that make it harder to do business and hire staff. (gov.uk) That same balancing act runs through workers’ rights. Ministers say reforms will be shaped with businesses, trade unions and workers rather than done to one side or another, with the stated aim of higher living standards and stronger firms. For employers, the fine print will matter. For workers, the question will be whether the new language is matched by proper security and decent pay. (gov.uk)

On trade, Burnham’s team is arguing that a more active government abroad should support jobs at home. Downing Street said the Prime Minister has been speaking with world leaders this week to deepen trade ties, and officials pointed to the UK’s Economic Prosperity Deal with the United States as proof that engagement can still bring results even during a fresh round of global tariffs. Government statements on 24 July said the deal keeps improved trading terms in place, including zero tariffs on whisky and medical technology. (gov.uk) The other lever ministers want to use is public spending. Burnham told business groups that procurement should back British firms by default, with public investment supporting jobs, apprenticeships, innovation and skills across the country. That will be watched closely by manufacturers, supply-chain firms and smaller contractors who have heard promises before and will now want to see who actually wins the work. (gov.uk)

The wider backdrop to all this is a quick reshaping of government in Burnham’s first week in office. More than 200 business leaders and senior figures from science and technology have already been engaged by ministers, according to the government, while the old Department for Business and Trade has been renamed the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade. Ministers say the new set-up is meant to tie research, industry and investment more closely together. (gov.uk) For the North, the politics are easy enough to read. Burnham is selling a break with the habit of power being hoarded in Whitehall and asking business to meet him halfway by investing in people and place. The harder part starts now. Northern firms will judge this offer less by the phone calls and more by whether decisions come faster, town centres get some breathing room and young people can actually find that first decent job near home. (gov.uk)