# Lowick Hedry > Insights to advise. Relationships to deliver ## Posts - [Understanding the Burnham Administration](https://lowickhedry.com/news/understanding-the-burnham-administration/): Andy Burnham’s first two weeks as Prime Minister have seen a surge in the polls, major policy announcements, and the launch of Number 10 North. In this week’s episode of Political Business, Nathan Parsad-Wyatt and Kevin McKeever break down Andy Burnham’s early premiership performance, the Greater Manchester mayoral by-election, and share their essential political summer reading recommendations. - [Burnham's new cabinet and ending political violence](https://lowickhedry.com/news/burnhams-new-cabinet-and-ending-political-violence/): Prime Minister Andy Burnham has arrived in Downing Street, and has unveiled his top team. What does this massive political shift mean for UK business? Nathan Parsad-Wyatt and Kevin McKeever break down the figures at the forefront of Burnham’s cabinet, what kind of administration will they help shape? They also examine reaction from opposition parties and wonder where UK politics stands following such a change. Finally they discuss the importance of political security and safety, having experienced, how do we keep public servants safe? - [From 2015 defeat to prime minister: Inside Burnham's rise](https://lowickhedry.com/news/from-2015-defeat-to-prime-minister-inside-burnhams-rise/): Andy Burnham is officially the new Labour leader and will be the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. In this special edition of Political Business, Nathan Parsad-Wyatt and Kevin McKeever consider the remarkable 10-year journey that brought Burnham to the Number 10. Kevin shares his personal backstory—from joining New Labour in 1997 to breaking away from the “Westminster bubble” tribe in 2015 to back Burnham’s anti-metropolitan vision. They break down what a Burnham administration will look like, address past controversies, handle the rampant media speculation surrounding Shabana Mahmood as Chancellor, and explain why communication is just as important as policy […] - [Things can only get better](https://lowickhedry.com/news/things-can-only-get-better/): As Andy Burnham formally becomes Labour leader, I signed off on our Lowick Hedry transition Lowdown series (pasted below). If you’d like to sign up to our new weekly Lowdown email just click here. Things can only get better Good morning, The Labour leadership contest wrapped up last night, with the close of nominations for the party’s affiliates (trade unions and socialist societies). Andy Burnham ended up being nominated by 379 Labour MPs and most trade unions. So at midday today, at the TUC building near Tottenham Court Road, Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) will convene a ‘special conference’ to […] - [Inside Southwark's planning revolution](https://lowickhedry.com/news/inside-southwarks-planning-revolution/): Can a Lib Dem-Green coalition fix London’s housing crisis, or will a £85 million budget black hole stand in their way? In this episode of Political Business, host Kevin McKeever sits down with Councillor Victor Chamberlain, the newly appointed Deputy Leader of Southwark Council and Executive Member for Strategic Planning. Following the historic May 2026 local elections, Southwark’s political landscape has completely shifted. For the first time in 16 years, Labour has lost its majority, giving rise to a joint Liberal Democrat and Green Party administration. Victor opens up about the reality of running a major London borough, how they plan […] - [Andy Burnham’s route to Number 10 | Nigel Farage’s Clacton circus | Harvard AI masterclass](https://lowickhedry.com/news/andy-burnhams-route-to-number-10-nigel-farages-clacton-circus-harvard-ai-masterclass/): On today’s episode of Political Business, Kevin and Nathan are live from Cambridge, England and from Cambridge, Massachusetts. They discuss another big week in Westminster politics, with Labour Party leadership sit to close next week, what’s next for the soon to be Prime Minister? Has Farage played a blinder by triggering a by-election… or has he shot himself in the foot? … and a critical dispatch from Harvard Business School on why British firms are falling behind on AI. - [The City Plan intervention: our conversation with Tom Sleigh](https://lowickhedry.com/news/the-city-plan-intervention-our-conversation-with-tom-sleigh/): The City of London’s flagship blueprint for growth, the City Plan 2040, was complete and ready to adopt, until a sudden intervention from Housing and Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook halted it in its tracks. In this special episode of Political Business, host Nathan Parsad-Wyatt sits down with Tom Sleigh, Chairman of the City of London Corporation’s Planning and Transportation Committee. Sleigh suggests the government’s decision to force new hearings over the plan’s impact on the Tower of London is “unnecessary and anti-growth.” We consider what this delay means for international investor confidence, why stripping floors off future skyscrapers could permanently “sterilise” […] - [Andy Burnham's Economic Vision | Devolution, Public Control & The New Southwark Coalition](https://lowickhedry.com/news/andy-burnhams-economic-vision-devolution-public-control-the-new-southwark-coalition/): Andy Burnham just laid out a radical new blueprint for the UK economy, shifting power away from Whitehall to a new “Number 10 North” in Greater Manchester. We discuss this means for business, devolution, and the markets. We also sit down with Councillor Victor Chamberlain, the new Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader of Southwark, to discuss the historic Lib Dem-Green joint administration and how it plans to tackle an £85 million budget black hole. Chamberlain also explains the multi-borough legal challenge against the Mayor of London’s emergency measures package, which reduced fast-track affordable housing requirements from 35% to 20%. Addressing the argument […] - [A message from the CEO](https://lowickhedry.com/news/a-message-from-the-ceo/): Today marks a major moment in the evolution of both Lowick and Hedry. I started Lowick over 9 years ago in the depths of the Corbyn era and the post-Brexit Referendum chaos. It was clear that traditional public affairs agencies didn’t truly understand the currents underneath Labour at the time. They weren’t equipped to explain the key role the party in local government and at mayoral level still had in the lives of corporate Britain – and the role of the affiliated trade unions, which is still massively misunderstood in the public affairs industry. We changed that. Over the years we’ve […] - [Built for This Moment](https://lowickhedry.com/news/built-for-this-moment/): Nine years ago, Kevin McKeever launched Lowick. A decade spent building relationships at the heart of government and advising some of the most impactful organisations in the country. A year ago, we launched Hedry. Cross-party from the start. The proposition was simple: help clients make sense of the chaos. We have. Today, we bring them together. Lowick Hedry is one consultancy. Multi-sector. Offices in London and Cambridge. An expanded, experienced team with relationships on the left and the right, working together, not as a claim but as the thing that makes the advice better. The question we get asked is why […] - [What Next for Burnham? Join Us on Friday 3 July](https://lowickhedry.com/news/what-next-for-burnham-join-us-on-friday-3-july/): The question has stopped being whether. It is now what, and who. Nominations for the Labour leadership open on 9 July. If no one else clears the threshold, Burnham is elected unopposed. We do not expect a contest. Within weeks, Britain will have its seventh Prime Minister in a decade. James Purnell is already in place as chief of staff. Access talks with Cabinet Secretary Antonia Romeo are under way. The Manchester economic speech is being prepared. The gilt market is calm. Burnham is moving. The serious question now is what a Burnham government actually does. The people who shape it. The policy direction it takes. What the first hundred days look like, and what that means for your organisation, your […] - [The City of Westminster is Open for Business](https://lowickhedry.com/news/the-city-of-westminster-is-open-for-business/): The new Conservative administration at Westminster City Council has a clear message for the development and investment community. They want to build. They want to deliver growth. And they want to work with business to do it. Earlier this month, Lowick Hedry — in partnership with Mount Anvil — hosted the first collective public outing of the new administration. Cllr Paul Swaddle OBE, Leader of Westminster City Council, set out his priorities alongside his full Cabinet. It was a significant moment: the whole administration in one room, setting out its stall to the people who develop, invest and operate across the […] - [Planning in Westminster: Straight from the Decision-Makers](https://lowickhedry.com/news/planning-in-westminster-straight-from-the-decision-makers/): Our engagement programme with the new City of Westminster administration continued this week with a breakfast roundtable for some of Westminster’s leading property and investment names, hosted by our friends at Newmark. Cllr Tim Barnes, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Growth and Planning, and Cllr Jim Glen, Chair of Planning, joined us directly. It was a timely and substantive morning — a chance to hear the new administration’s priorities for planning and development across the city, and to put real questions to the people who will be making the decisions. The direction of travel is clear. Westminster wants to build. […] - [London Boroughs Take Khan to Court](https://lowickhedry.com/news/london-boroughs-take-khan-to-court/): London’s affordable housing debate has moved from the council chamber to the High Court. Hackney, Lewisham and Tower Hamlets have filed a judicial review claim against the Mayor of London over plans to reduce the affordable housing requirement in planning applications from 35% to 20%. Four further boroughs — Lambeth, Southwark, Waltham Forest and Haringey — are formally backing the claim. The legal argument is procedural as much as political. The councils say Khan has attempted to cut the quota without using the proper statutory process for amending the London Plan, and without conducting a fair consultation before the change. There […] - [Sign up to the Lowick Hedry Lowdown](https://lowickhedry.com/news/sign-up-to-the-lowick-hedry-lowdown/): In the run up the General Election, we launched the Lowdown to help clients make sense of political change as it happens. This week, it came back – and the timing could not be more appropriate. Keir Starmer has resigned. Andy Burnham is on his way to Number 10. The transition is moving quickly. James Purnell is already in place as chief of staff. Access talks with the Cabinet Office are under way. A set-piece economic speech is being prepared. The chancellor is the call that still has to come. Kevin’s first Lowdown of the transition series set out what matters and what does […] - [How Andy Burnham Captured Westminster | Reform UK Splits & London Housing War](https://lowickhedry.com/news/how-andy-burnham-captured-westminster-reform-uk-splits-london-housing-war/): The political landscape has completely shifted. Following Keir Starmer’s dramatic resignation, Andy Burnham is on an unchallenged path to becoming the next Labour Leader and Prime Minister. In this episode of Political Business, Kevin and Nathan break down the monumental shift in Westminster, Burnham’s incoming transition team (including James Purnell), and what this means for the UK. We also dive into the sudden momentum halt for Reform UK after the Makerfield by-election, exploring the emerging internal power struggles between Nigel Farage, Zia Yusuf, and Robert Jenrick. Finally, we look at the growing civil war on the left, as London borough leaders […] - [Political Business Live: The New Map of London Politics](https://lowickhedry.com/news/political-business-live-the-new-map-of-london-politics/): The week after the local elections, we wanted to make sense of what had just happened. So we brought the right people into the room. Kevin and I hosted a live recording of Political Business at our home in King’s Cross. Joining us: Dave Hill of OnLondon, Scarlett Maguire of Merlin Strategy, Baroness Shama Tatler, and the newly elected Leader of Westminster City Council, Cllr Paul Swaddle OBE. The conversation covered the results in full. A bad night for Labour in its traditional heartlands. A Green surge that delivered control in Hackney and Lewisham. A Conservative comeback in Westminster, where Paul […] ## Pages - [Graduate Kick Start Programme](https://lowickhedry.com/graduatekickstart/): The insights to advise and the relationships to deliver are built from the moment you enter the workplace. That’s why Lowick Hedry is launching Graduate Kick Start. Graduate Kick Start takes a graduate and turns them into an adviser who can work across all four of our practices – built environment, infrastructure, litigation & crisis, and public affairs – in twelve months. This isn’t a shadowing scheme. From week one you’re doing real, billable work for real clients, with the support in place to make sure you’re never out of your depth and the stretch to make sure you’re never coasting. […] - [Modern Slavery](https://lowickhedry.com/modern-slavery-policy/): MODERN SLAVERY STATEMENT FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 2023/24. This statement is made pursuant to s.54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and sets out the steps that Lowick has taken and is continuing to take to ensure that modern slavery or human trafficking is not taking place within our business or supply chain. Modern slavery encompasses slavery, servitude, human trafficking and forced labour. We are committed to acting ethically and with integrity and transparency in all business dealings and to putting effective systems and controls in place to safeguard against any form of modern slavery taking place within the business or our […] - [Privacy Policy](https://lowickhedry.com/privacy-policy/): Lowick Group Ltd and Hedry Limited trading as Lowick Hedry, is committed to compliance with all relevant EU and UK laws in respect of personal data, and the protection of the personal data of individuals whose information Lowick Hedry collects and processes in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). About this policy This Privacy Policy has been prepared in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which came into force on 25 May 2018. The Information Commissioner’s Office states that a privacy policy needs to include the following information: About us Lowick Hedry is a communications consultancy advising on […] - [Coming Soon](https://lowickhedry.com/coming-soon/) - [Contact](https://lowickhedry.com/contact/) - [News](https://lowickhedry.com/news/) - [Home](https://lowickhedry.com/) ## Optional - [Agent (MCP protocol)](websites-agents.hostinger.com/lowickhedry.com/mcp) [comment]: # (Generated by Hostinger Tools Plugin)