Burnham’s ‘Number 10 North’ Goes on a Hiring Spree; Perth Opens ‘Number 10 Tay’ in a Portakabin at Broxden and Advertises for One Person With a Kettle
The Prime Minister wants an office in the north of England. Perth says it has had an office in the north of Britain for centuries, and nobody gave it any staff.
A government office, of the kind Perth would like, but smaller, and with a better view of the A9. Photo: John Firth, “Office buildings near Irwell street bridge - geograph.org.uk - 2563847”, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
Andy Burnham’s plan for a “Number 10 North” is going on a multi-million pound hiring spree, with up to 50 jobs being advertised for the Prime Minister’s Manchester office, which is expected to grow to about 120 staff.
The idea is that the government should spend more time in the parts of the country that are not London. Perth is broadly in favour, and would like to point out that it is also not London, and has been not London for a very long time.
“We’d take a Number 10 Tay,” said a Bridgend man. “It wouldn’t need to be grand. A Portakabin at Broxden would do. Staff it with one person, a kettle and a map of the A9, and you’d solve half of Scotland’s problems by Thursday.”
A North Muirton woman said she had already written the job advert. “Wanted: adviser to the Prime Minister on Perth matters. Must know the difference between the North Inch and the South Inch. Must be able to tell people from Dundee, politely, that they are in the wrong queue. Salary: a scone.”
Officials in Westminster are understood to have no plans to open an office in Perth. Perth is understood to have no plans to stop asking.
The Perthetic has offered the government the use of its own spare desk, which has a working lamp and only a small amount of jam on it.
The real story: Number 10 North hiring spree (BBC News)
Letters to the Editor
The views expressed are those of the reader, and frankly that's on them.
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I’ll apply for the Portakabin job. I have a kettle AND I know where Broxden is, which is more than the satnav does.
— Iona B., Letham, 2 November 2026 -
Fifty jobs in Manchester. Meanwhile Perth can’t find someone to fix the clock in my close.
— Malcolm F., Inveralmond, 2 November 2026 -
If it’s ‘Number 10 North’, what’s Perth? Number 10 Further North? Number 10 Up a Bit?
— Fraser W., Bridge of Earn, 2 November 2026
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