Cleverly accuses Burnham of 'war on London'

Sir James Cleverly, who resigned from the shadow cabinet on Saturday to run for Mayor of London, has accused the prime minister of waging a "war on London" and pursuing a "very anti-London agenda".

The senior Conservative claimed Andy Burnham's devolution drive would come at the expense of London, arguing the plans centralised power in Manchester.

On Saturday, Sir James announced he was quitting the Tory front bench as shadow secretary of state for housing, communities and local government to run for City Hall at the next mayoral election in 2028.

A government spokesperson said devolution plans would "deliver good growth in every postcode".

The Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, is halfway through his third term and has neither confirmed nor ruled out standing again.

Speaking to LBC on Sunday, Sir James said Burnham was "stripping hundreds of millions of pounds out of the budget of London councils".

The government's fairer funding review, launched while Sir Keir Starmer was Labour leader, could see some London councils face cuts to their funding settlements as part of a bid to redirect money to more deprived areas.

The government has defended the changes, arguing it is "fixing an outdated funding system" where some of the wealthiest parts of the country "benefited from exceptionally high levels of government support, while communities facing greater pressures lost out".

Sir James, the MP for Braintree in Essex, said Burnham was "blaming London for London's own success".

He added: "The UK cannot be successful as a country unless London is successful as a city. And I see this in Braintree.

"Andy Burnham just doesn't get it.... He's got a war with London, and London needs someone to fight its corner."

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said they were working with local leaders across the country, including in London, to deliver "good growth".

"This isn't about boosting other cities at the expense of the capital – London and all other places with mayors benefit from the set of devolved powers and budgets on offer as we continue to shift power away from Westminster and back to local people," they said.

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