‘We’ll bring down costs, reform business rates and use the power of government to back British business.’ That was Andy Burnham’s pitch as he opened his first round of calls with industry groups, using a government statement published on 24 July to promise a more workable relationship between ministers and the firms that hire, build and invest. Speaking with the CBI, British Chambers of Commerce, Federation of Small Businesses, Make UK, Small Business Britain and Startup Coalition, the Prime Minister said government would offer more certainty, quicker decisions and a stronger business voice in policy-making. In return, he wants employers to invest in their staff, back their communities and help create what he called ‘good growth in every postcode’.

For readers across the North, the language will sound familiar because the problems are familiar too. Rising costs, boarded-up units on high streets and the feeling that Whitehall notices regional businesses last have been a steady complaint from town centres, industrial estates and start-up hubs alike. Burnham’s argument is that successive governments have left firms carrying too much of the strain while local economies wait too long for decisions. The promise of a ‘circuit breaker’ is tidy enough on paper; the harder part will be whether businesses in places far from Westminster actually feel rules, hiring and investment becoming easier.

One of the earliest measures attached to that promise is 20 per cent relief for pubs, clubs and music venues, announced in the government’s first week. For many northern towns, that is not a side issue. These are the places that keep evening economies alive, give young workers their first shifts and stop another row of shutters going down in the centre. If the relief reaches operators quickly, it could offer some badly needed breathing room. But businesses will want to know what follows after the headline: whether business rates reform is meaningful, whether other overheads come down, and whether small employers see the same urgency ministers now say they will bring.

Where Burnham’s offer feels most rooted in regional politics is on devolution. He said the state must become more agile, with more decisions taken closer to communities, employers and investors rather than being trapped in over-centralised systems that slow regeneration. That matters in the North because delayed sign-off can kill schemes long before the first brick is laid. Whether the issue is a town-centre site, transport-linked employment land or a training partnership with local colleges, councils and combined authorities have long argued they can move faster when Whitehall stops clutching every lever. Burnham is now trying to turn that case into national economic policy.

His clearest challenge to business, though, was on youth unemployment. Burnham said too many young people are leaving school without a proper route into work, leaving employers short of talent and too many teenagers and twenty-somethings shut out of the ‘first rung in the ladder’. That will strike a chord with local firms who say entry-level recruitment has become harder, not easier. In many northern communities, the gap between classroom, college and a paid first job is still far too wide. If this new partnership means more apprenticeships, better work placements and a real push on basic employability, it will answer a need that has been obvious for years.

This is not a hands-off message from government. Burnham also signalled a tougher line where markets and regulators are failing households, naming essential services such as energy and water and saying companies that fall short of expected standards should be challenged. Alongside that, ministers say workers’ rights reforms will be delivered with business, trade unions and employees, while public procurement will be used to back British firms by default. For manufacturers, social enterprises and regional supply chains, that could matter if it means public money genuinely stays closer to home rather than being swallowed by the same big incumbents.

The government also says it wants stronger trade links and greater economic security, pointing to talks with international partners and to the Economic Prosperity Deal remaining in place despite a fresh round of US tariffs. According to the government statement, that agreement has improved trading terms with zero tariffs on whisky and medical technology, an early example ministers say shows the value of direct engagement. There is also fresh machinery behind the pitch. More than 200 business leaders have been engaged by ministers this week, and the new Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade has been set up to bring investment, science and industrial priorities under one roof. For northern employers, though, the verdict will rest on delivery. Warm words about every postcode are easy enough to print; what matters now is whether towns that have waited years for a fair crack finally see jobs, skills and regeneration move at the speed promised.