Here be dragons: does moving power to the north work?

Politics The Guardian By Esther Addley 19 Jul 2026 07:00 1 min read

Andy Burnham’s recent promise to create a ‘No 10 North’ echoes BBC’s successful Out of London plan When the BBC first announced its intention to move a significant chunk of its operation to Salford in Greater Manchester – the “Out of London” plan, as the then director general Mark Thompson called it in 2004, with a faint “here be dragons” whiff – there were plenty in the organisation who were scornful that it could ever work. Senior staff would never leave the capital. Star talent wouldn’t dream

Andy Burnham’s recent promise to create a ‘No 10 North’ echoes BBC’s successful Out of London plan

When the BBC first announced its intention to move a significant chunk of its operation to Salford in Greater Manchester – the “Out of London” plan, as the then director general Mark Thompson called it in 2004, with a faint “here be dragons” whiff – there were plenty in the organisation who were scornful that it could ever work.

Senior staff would never leave the capital. Star talent wouldn’t dream of travelling. It “didn’t take a brain surgeon”, said the Breakfast presenter and Strictly Come Dancing winner Chris Hollins, to see that the prime minister would never appear in person.

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