Sir James Cleverly has accused Andy Burnham of waging a "war on London" and pledged to "fight its corner" as he announced his candidacy for the city's mayoralty.
Cleverly, the former foreign and home secretary, stated that Prime Minister's devolution agenda was concentrating power in Manchester, Burnham's base, at the expense of the capital. He announced Saturday that he was stepping down from the Conservative front bench to run for City Hall in the upcoming election. The current Labour incumbent, Sir Sadiq Khan, is in the middle of his third term and has not yet confirmed if he will seek re-election in May 2028.
Speaking on LBC on Sunday, Cleverly asserted that Burnham is "very, very anti-London," citing both his rhetoric and actions. "He's stripping hundreds of millions of pounds out of the budget of London councils," Cleverly claimed.
These comments come as London councils face potential funding cuts under the government's fairer funding review. Launched during Sir Keir Starmer's premiership, the review aims to redirect funds to more deprived areas. Leaders of Conservative-run councils in Westminster, Wandsworth, and Kensington & Chelsea have warned of significant council tax increases or service reductions to compensate for funding shortfalls.
Cleverly also targeted Burnham's initiative to establish a "No10 North" to devolve power from Westminster, a plan Burnham outlined before becoming Labour leader. Recent reports indicated that the setup of this northern headquarters in Manchester cost nearly £49,000 of taxpayer money, including approximately £1,000 for a replica of the Downing Street door. The reports also noted a cardboard cut-out of Larry the cat was part of the office setup.
Cleverly criticized this as "centralising power in Andy Burnham's favoured place, which is, you know, in his own backyard, and everyone else is going to suffer. And London particularly, because he is putting forward a very anti-London agenda."
The government has defended the funding changes, stating they are rectifying an outdated system where wealthier areas received disproportionately high support while communities facing greater challenges received less.
Cleverly will campaign for the mayoralty from the back benches and is not seeking re-election in his Braintree constituency. He indicated that Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch was supportive of his decision to leave the shadow cabinet but would remain neutral in the selection process for the party's mayoral candidate. His departure creates a vacancy on the front bench, with speculation of a reshuffle expected when Parliament reconvenes after the summer recess.