Burnham suits up to battle the Whitehall blob — and neutralize Farage – POLITICO

LONDON — Andy Burnham will have less than three years to show voters he can change Britain. He’s starting with what may be the hardest part: the civil service.

Burnham, who will take over as U.K. prime minister on July 20, wants to radically shake up the way the British state is run. He has promised to centralize some powers to his own office, hand others to regional leaders and stuff personnel into bases outside London (including a “No. 10 North” in Manchester) to weaken departmental chiefs in Whitehall.

In doing so, Burnham is setting up a culture clash that he hopes will convince the nation not to elect Reform UK’s Nigel Farage, who also rails against the failings of the British government machine from the right, at the next general election.