Nr 10 North, and the Significance of Capitals
Does the choice of a capital matter? If so, what does it signify that Andy Burnham is setting up "Nr 10 North"?
It remains to be seen whether Andy Burnham manages to preserve his air of freshness in the coming months and years, but as of the time of writing he seems to be enjoying the kind of honey moon period you tend to get with newly elected premiers. Personally, I have no strong feelings about Burnham, rather I am intrigued by his idea of establishing a "Nr 10 North" in Manchester. Is this a classic bit of political signaling, a badge of honour proclaiming that Burnham is not part of the dreaded establishment from London and the home counties, or does it actually matter which city is a state's capital?
The only discussion I've ever come across on the topic of the relevancy of capitals is from Swedish politician and international relations scholar Rudolf Kjelléns 'Staten som livsform' (the state as a lifeform). Kjellén argues, convincingly in my opinion, that choosing a capital signals a state's priorities at the time of choosing, and therefore Christening a new capital should be seen as a meaningful act. For example, St Petersburg becoming the Russian capital was a sign that Russia wanted to be more like Europe, to be more connected to the non-Russian world. Conversely, moving the capital to Moscow after the revolution was a sign of moving away from the West intellectually, culturally, and strategically.
If we accept this premise that capitals matter, what can we gleam from Burnham's decision to partly move to Manchester? I think it is a sign of the UK turning inward. London's location is relatively central in England while also being situated on the Thames, a maritime highway to the continent, and even the world. It was a perfect seat for an outwards looking Great Power and empire. But the empire is gone, and London's influence on the continent has been waning in the decade since Brexit. Meanwhile internal divisions between the constituent realms of the United Kingdom have grown. Scotland has been flirting with nationalism and sometimes toying with the idea of independence, and Northern Ireland has had a protracted political crisis which resulted in the Stormont being inactive for about two years, ending with a Sinn Féin first minister. Moving the political centre further north and further west is a canny move if the goal is to keep the union together.
Of course, moving the capital won't solve any problems in and of itself, but I do think it signals a direction in British politics. Boris Johnson's idea of "levelling up" the North comes from the same impulse, and the fact that leaders from both the right and the left realise that shifting focus from the metropole to the heartlands is important confirms that the UK will be inward looking for the foreseeable future.
If you liked this post you can read a previous post about German politics here or the rest of my writings here. I also have a section for longer reads I call essays here, I particularly recommend my series called The Bird & The Technoking exploring Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter, and its political and cultural implications. It'd mean a lot to me if you recommended the blog to a friend or coworker. Come back next Monday for a new post!
I've always been interested in politics, economics, and the interplay between. The blog is a place for me to explore different ideas and concepts relating to economics or politics, be that national or international. The goal for the blog is to make you think; to provide new perspectives.
Written by Karl Johansson
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