Analysis: Andy Burnham bets political future on remaking Britain’s centralised state

Andy Burnham, Britain’s next prime minister, is staking his premiership on a goal that has eluded most British leaders: transforming one of the most centralised countries in the Western world to tackle stubborn regional inequality.

Burnham has promised what he calls the “biggest rebalancing of power our country has ever seen”, shifting power away from central government and giving regional leaders greater control over spending, transport, housing, skills and economic growth....