---
title: "Burnham's Britain: Moving Money and Power Out of Westminster"
description: Andy Burnham's plan to give English mayors a share of income tax and business rates faces its first test in John Healey's Budget on 28th October.
author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
date: 2026-10-25T14:47:00.792Z
updated: 2026-10-25T14:49:40.519Z
canonical: https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/burnham-devolution-mayors-income-tax-budget
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/unsplash-4xwd5ue-ojy.webp
categories: Politics
content_type: Analysis
region: United Kingdom
publication: Sovereign Magazine
access: members
about:
  - type: Person
    name: Andy Burnham
    description: Andy Burnham is a British Labour politician who became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 20 July 2026. He was previously Mayor of Greater Manchester and served in the Cabinet under Gordon Brown.
    jobTitle: Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
    sameAs:
      - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Burnham
---

A Prime Minister, his Chancellor and England's regional mayors are attempting what Andy Burnham calls the biggest transfer of power from Westminster in a generation, and [Wednesday's Budget](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/healey-first-budget-personal-allowance-energy-vat) is where the plan acquires numbers. When John Healey announced the date of his first Budget, he did not lead with tax or borrowing. He said it would be a Budget that 'moves money and power out of Westminster, and into every postcode around Britain'.

Alongside the Budget on 28th October, the government is due to publish a white paper on devolution and a roadmap with a timetable for putting it into practice. The Budget itself is expected to set out how mayors will keep part of the income tax and business rates raised in their areas, a shift away from the central government grants that have funded English local government for decades.

## Mayors will keep a share of the income tax raised in their areas

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