The key facts
- No10 North in Manchester has posted 50 external vacancies; base salaries alone will cost up to £2.8 million
- The office's staff has reached 120 people — almost half of Downing Street's 280 employees
- In spring 2027 the office will move from temporary premises to a new building on First Street
Mass hiring at the prime minister's Manchester office
The office of UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, 'Number 10 North' (No10 North), opened in Manchester in July as a 'sister' office to London's Downing Street, has announced a major recruitment drive: 50 external vacancies have been posted in strategy, communications, engagement, private office and policy. The news was reported by BBC News. Base salaries alone for the new staff will cost up to £2.8 million, according to BBC calculations — not including employer pension contributions (28.97% in the civil service). Government sources say the roles will be paid for from existing budgets and that there will be no civil service cuts because of the hiring: some posts are to be relocated, while some vacant ones will be closed.
Key roles and the scale of the office
Among the highest-paid positions is a deputy director for 'rewiring the state' with a salary range of £86,000–117,000, who must 'lead the Rewiring the State Unit,' shaping the government's approach to devolution across departments. According to the job listings, staff must be in the office at least 60% of working time. No10 North currently employs 120 people — almost half of the 280 staff at No10 in London. The government said the office 'is carrying out the most significant transfer of power from Westminster in a generation,' and that new staff will 'work with mayors and councils to identify barriers holding back regional growth.'
The move and opposition criticism
On Friday the government confirmed that in spring 2027 No10 North will move from its temporary premises in Heron House on Albert Square to a new government building on First Street, where its neighbours will be the business, education and local government departments and the Cabinet Office. Conservatives have criticised the project: deputy party leader Alex Burghart called the office a 'gimmick' and said Burnham 'promised to streamline the civil service, but is now hiring extra staff and again failing to say where the money will come from.' Shadow minister Mike Wood previously reported that ministers failed to disclose data on the office's staffing levels and attendance. No10 North deputy director Duncan Parrish last week called for a 'change of mindset' in central government, noting 'institutional complexities' in delivering the office's goals.
What the office has been doing so far
Since opening, No10 North has hosted summits of regional mayors — at least two of them were held partly as video calls via Microsoft Teams. At one such meeting, ministers presented controversial powers for English mayors to introduce visitor levies on overnight guests. The office also hosted an education summit of school leaders; in September it was the venue for Burnham's first meeting as prime minister with Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin. Burnham made the office's opening one of his first acts as prime minister, calling it 'the nerve centre of a rewired Britain' that should drive growth in more regions of the country.
Image source, Getty Images Andy Burnham made opening No10 North one of his first acts as PM
Image source, Getty Images No10 North is designed as a sister office to London's Downing Street - with a replica black door inside on show
