Burnham won't ignore the South, says business secretary

The business and trade secretary has said Andy Burnham is "committed to the success of the South" despite his pledge to redistribute power across the UK.

Peter Kyle, who is MP for Hove and Portslade, acknowledged the South had "very different needs" to the North and that regulatory reform was a priority for small businesses.

Burnham, who is expected to become prime minister on Monday, has promised a new No 10 North team based in Manchester which will "oversee the biggest rebalancing of power our country has ever seen".

Kyle made his comments while visiting Rolls-Royce in Chichester ahead of the UK trade deal with India coming into force on Wednesday, which will slash tariffs on cars.

Kyle, who had been a staunch supporter of Sir Keir Starmer but has now nominated Burnham to lead the party, said: "We will continue to see investment in the South but we will also see a respect for the nature of the economy.

"I don't want the whole country to be treated the same."

He said the South had more start-ups than the rest of the UK, some of which were "highly, highly innovative" companies.

Kyle said they needed "regulatory reform" rather than the kind of investment that other parts of the country needed.

"They need regulation to keep up with the pace of change that they're seeing in their business," he added.

Asked whether the prime minister-in-waiting had a mandate to run the country without an election or even a leadership contest, Kyle said the Labour party was "managing the transition in a very functional way".

He said Burnham would bring "a new emphasis, a new energy".

Asked whether he would still be in the cabinet next week, Kyle said he was "realistic about the brutal nature of being in this work" and it was "part of the deal".

He added: "Do I enjoy this? I love doing this job. Do I want to continue? Of course I do. I'm realistic about these jobs."

Speaking at Rolls-Royce's base in West Sussex, he said he was "determined that we get the automotive sector back up to full production".

"I want Rolls-Royce making small modular reactors and exporting them around the world to become a world leader," he said.

"This would reinvigorate the supply chains of the Midlands and the north of England, and we're already doing it."

The UK-India trade deal will see automotive tariffs cut from up to 110% to 10% under a quota in an effort to boost UK GDP by £4.8bn.

Tariffs on whiskey, gin and cosmetics will also be significantly reduced.

Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, X, and on Instagram, and listen to BBC Radio Sussex on Sounds. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.