Andy Burnham Needs a New Democratic Operating Model for Politics

Miriam Levin

Director of Participatory Programmes – Demos

Jess Sargeant

Director of Policy – Demos

In his first speech as Prime Minister, Andy Burnham focused not just on what he wanted to do, but how he wanted to do it. He recognised what millions of people across the country already know to be true – that politics, as it is, isn’t working. Almost every statistic about the state of our democracy is depressing. Three-quarters of people don’t trust that politicians make decisions in the best interest of the country. Trust in national government leaders has dropped eighteen points in recent years.

The country is stuck in a democratic doom loop. The public feel unheard, like their views don’t matter, and so they disengage from politics. MPs operating in a system that encourages division over collaboration grow frustrated at their inability to influence government policy in the interests of their constituents. Ministers, confronted with a government machine that is unresponsive to what people need or want, are unable to make a difference on the ground.

The lack of trust weakens legitimacy, which inhibits government delivery. Burnham was right to recognise that addressing this problem would require a whole new political model.

New Democratic Operating Model

Demos has been advocating for a new democratic operating model. One that sees citizen participation, deliberation, public governance, and deep partnership between communities and public services strategically woven into the tissue of how important decisions are made, at every level. This doesn’t mean involving the public in every decision, excessive consultation, or undermining representative democracy. It means creating genuine opportunities for collaboration and deliberation in parliament, in government, and at local communities. It means building on the ways in which the public are already involved in decision making but making them better – delivering more informed, better-evidenced, and more sustainable policies.

Andy Burnham promised to “change politics, to make it more collaborative, more about problem solving than point scoring”. He has committed to change the way he works with his parliamentary party, vowing never to use party discipline to “stifle debate” and promising a greater role for MPs in shaping policy and legislation. We also need a new approach for how MPs relate to their constituents to strengthen the frontline of democracy.

Not the surgery as a complaints desk, but ongoing, structured dialogue with the people they represent – whether they voted for them or not – not just those with the loudest voices or the most pressing problems. Demos has been developing and piloting a new model of MP-Citizens Conversations that could change the way we engage with our representatives for the better.

Burnham has an ambitious agenda for devolution, promising to take power out of Whitehall and “into every postcode in the land”. He has been developing detailed plans to devolve power to combined authorities across England, but he shouldn’t stop there. To truly fulfil his commitment, power will need to flow down right into neighbourhoods. There are also exciting opportunities at the local and hyperlocal level to design and bring to life new forms of neighbourhood governance.

The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill has paved the way for a generational shift in power towards communities. But there is work to be done to create and build the architecture of everyday democracy at this neighbourhood level and to stitch it into the existing democratic framework. We need to go beyond institutional design, to help build capacity and support people from all walks of life to invest their time and energy into their communities.

Delivery Mechanisms

Burnham is making big promises that appear to match the thirst for change from citizens. But many of the delivery mechanisms are, as yet, unknown. Changing how politics works will also require trying new and different ways to tackle the biggest issues facing our country, and systematic changes to put people at the heart of policymaking. Big, ethical, controversial issues should be subject to citizen assemblies to inform parliamentary votes. These are nationally focused and amplified events, and we only need one or two a year to normalise them into our operating model.

Beyond that, government and parliaments need to build participation into the ways of working, not as occasional bolt-ons. We need standing citizens’ panels at national and local government level, creating permanent democratic infrastructure that governments can draw on and where citizens can expect to be listened to.

The civil service will also need to integrate citizens’ voices into their policy processes and delivery plans, piloting new approaches to centring the views and needs of service users and frontline staff in public service design, as championed by the Government’s Test Learn and Grow programme. The Prime Minister should ensure the civil service has the skills, capability, and incentives to embed this in their day-to-day work. The Cabinet Secretary’s Review of the Civil Service provides a vehicle for driving this change.

Just a few weeks ago, Keir Starmer declared the era of incremental policy over. Burnham is giving every impression of being bolder. But to achieve it, he will need to overhaul the very foundations of our shared governance. He cannot rely on leadership alone; he will need to embed the public voice in all our national, local, and community institutions. Only then will we be able to break out of this democratic doom loop and deliver on behalf of the people of the UK.

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