Andy Burnham, newly minted Prime Minister, has discovered a rhetorical loophole so perfect it deserves a patent. He’s calling increased government oversight ‘devolution’ — the political equivalent of calling a tax hike ‘economic freedom.’ The man is asking local councils to surrender spending decisions to Westminster while simultaneously claiming he’s handing power back to the people.
Kemi Badenoch, still operating in the reality-based community, pointed out the obvious contradiction: more government control, more taxes, more politicians making decisions that used to belong to regions. She said this out loud in Parliament, as if Burnham might suddenly realize his promise and his policy are moving in opposite directions. They are not.
What actually happened is classic Westminster theater. Burnham announced a devolution agenda that requires central approval for every meaningful local decision. It’s devolution in the way a restaurant ‘devolves’ menu choices to the customer by asking them to pick between two items the chef already decided to make. The local councils get autonomy to implement what the government has already chosen.
The absurdity isn’t hidden — it’s the entire policy. Central control rebranded as localism, presented with the confidence of someone who believes nobody reads past the headline. Badenoch’s complaint is technically correct, which is the worst kind of correct when you’re trying to sell contradictions to voters who’ve heard this exact pitch before.