A WRITTEN constitution could be needed for Britain as a “different approach” is taken to running the country, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said.

Mr Burnham previously called for a written constitution in his 2024 book Head North: A Rallying Cry For A More Equal Britain, co-authored with Liverpool City Region metro mayor Steve Rotheram. 

Speaking as he unveiled plans for increased devolution, he said the proposals strengthened the case for a formal constitution.

“In the end, I think it does start to point towards a new constitutional settlement, particularly with what Steve and I were writing about with that commitment to equivalent living standards,” he said. 

“We need to have a country where everyone, in the end, can live a comparable life. That should be what we’re working towards.”

Mr Burnham said this principle should be the “cornerstone” of a written constitution, adding: “I think there is a case for a new clear set of principles about how this country should be run and things that should be minimum basics in all parts of the country, related to essentials and connectivity. 

“It’s wrong that people are left arguing for things that are just fundamental, and they’re given in other parts of the country, and the lack of a constitution disempowers places in that situation.”

He said plans to give every area the right to become a strategic authority and retain more income tax and business rates “does start to take you into the realms of a very different approach to running the country.”

Unlike many countries, Britain does not have a formal written constitution, but is understood to have one established through common law, statutes and conventions.