Andy Burnham's Devolution Agenda: Can Nista Make It Work? 2026

Andy Burnham's devolution agenda faces a structural paradox: central power must be confidently asserted to truly give power away. The National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (Nista) could be the operational mechanism that resolves this tension. Created in April 2025 under Keir Starmer's government, Nista merges the National Infrastructure Commission and the Infrastructure and Projects Authority into a single body reporting to both the Treasury and the Cabinet Office.

The Role of Nista in Burnham's Plans

Nista, with around 250 civil servants, sits at the heart of the new relationship between Whitehall and regional mayors. Under Starmer, accountability to the Cabinet Office side was weak. Now, under Louise Haigh’s new Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet—endorsed by the Institute for Government for implementing long-called-for reforms—that balance may shift. Nista becomes the operational expression of the relationship between Haigh and Chancellor John Healey, determining whether Burnham’s ambitions survive Treasury orthodoxy.

Healey’s Unconventional Background

Your editorial correctly notes John Healey is “not a big beast of the species likely to build a power base to rival Mr Burnham.” However, it understates his formation. Before Parliament, Healey spent years in disability rights and trade union work—at Mind and the Trades Union Congress, where he helped design the national minimum wage. This pre-parliamentary biography suggests a chancellor whose instincts may align more naturally with the “preventive state” agenda than his Brown-era Treasury service implies.

The stakes are high. Denis Healey’s capitulation to Treasury orthodoxy in 1976 shaped British politics for 50 years. John Healey must avoid the same trap while Burnham pushes for greater regional autonomy.

Key Takeaways

• Nista merges infrastructure and project oversight to streamline devolution support.
• Louise Haigh strengthens Cabinet Office accountability, balancing Treasury influence.
• John Healey’s background in disability rights and the minimum wage suggests openness to preventive policies.
• The success of Burnham’s agenda hinges on the Healey-Haigh dynamic.

FAQ

For Burnham’s devolution agenda to work, the new institutional architecture must empower regions without triggering Treasury resistance. Nista, backed by a reformed Cabinet Office and a chancellor with a social justice background, offers the best chance yet—but only if Healey resists the gravitational pull of Treasury convention. The next few years will test whether structural reform can deliver real power into Greater Manchester and beyond.