Giving the north of England a crack at hosting the globe's biggest sports event might seem about as Brand Burnham as it gets. Seven million pounds of taxpayers' cash is a teeny drop in the context of the overall Budget, to pay for the government to take a closer look at possible plans. But the idea is sure to get tongues wagging - and headline writers scribbling.
A "Northern Games" in 2040 or beyond just might create a massive sense of national feel-good, jobs and development, as the Olympics in east London did more than a decade ago. But it's a promise of a possibility at least a decade away. And what could be more in tune with the Manchester-loving prime minister and his proud Yorkshireman chancellor than a sporting plan fixed firmly on the top geographical chunk of the country?
Plan for Northern Olympics to get £7m in Healey's Budget It's Brand Burnham alright, popular with most of the Labour backbenches, just add the Twiglets and the pint in the stands. The prime minister and his team are proud of a distinct feature of their government so far, focusing on small things that might make a big difference: fines for blaring out music on your phone on the bus, cracking down on "rip-off" parking charges, investing a small amount of cash in a big ambition for a sporting event in future. It's what some ministers call "the politics of trying" – putting time and effort into ideas that you don't pretend are revolutionary, but give direction, and a sense of sympathy to the public.
It's an echo, deliberate or not, of another Labour Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, who sent memos to his cabinet in 1974 demanding "little things that mean a lot". He ended up with a list of plans including nationalising small breweries to stop them being gulped up by big firms (paging Andy Burnham), freezing phone installation charges for pensioners, and plans for empty office blocks. But the next few days could bring an end to that "politics of trying" phase, with one senior official describing the coming Budget as "the first proper moment for the government, which will then be in the pipeline for the 10-year plan, then a very difficult spending review".
What is the Budget and what could be in it? An influential Labour MP told me: "The Budget has to be the beginning of the future story." A fancy way of saying, beyond the short-term announcements and clear long-term aspirations, what is this government actually going to do? "Steady as she goes," is what one well-connected senior MP predicts, and how expectations of the Budget are being managed across Westminster.
They tell me: "Not doing a lot might be more reassuring to people than promising the earth with whose money?" The boss of one well-known high street business told me they are even hoping there won't be any big bazookas. "Just do no harm," they implored the Chancellor John Healey. "The hole is too big that they are trying to fill, so my view is don't try and do anything big to help because you don't have the money, but don't do anything to harm us either." After all, the chancellor is bound by Labour's manifesto promises not to fiddle with the main taxes – income tax, VAT, National Insurance for workers.
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