Pillows and pots move into Downing Street as Andy Burnham prepares to become Britain's first commuter Prime Minister and split his time between London and Manchester

By GABRIEL MILLARD-CLOTHIER, POLITICAL REPORTER and GLEN OWEN Published: 22:00, 18 July 2026 | Updated: 22:36, 18 July 2026 When Andy Burnham walks through the front door of No10 on Monday morning, having kissed hands with King Charles at Buckingham Palace, he will set about the task of trying to become Britain’s first commuter Prime Minister. But Mr Burnham’s insistence that he will split his time between London and Manchester has already hit a major stumbling block, after security experts decreed his family home in the North could not be secured without extensive alterations. The Mail on Sunday understands that the four-bedroom, semi-detached house has been vetoed by Scotland Yard protection officers because it backs on to a public swimming pool – raising questions about where he will stay during his ‘one or two days’ in No10 North. Preparations for his move into Downing Street with wife Marie-France van Heel and their three children started yesterday, with bedding and kitchen equipment being taken into the building by staff. Mr Burnham has indicated he intends to spend the second part of the week working from the new department, which is likely to be based on a GCHQ site in the area. The new department will have its own ministers, a permanent secretary and full-time civil servants – which could be funded by the abolition of Liz Kendall’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. When he returns from his visit to Buckingham Palace, Mr Burnham is expected to be greeted at the door of No10 by Cabinet Secretary Antonia Romeo. After being applauded over the threshold by staff, he will be led to the Cabinet Room to meet his most senior officials. There he will listen to a detailed personal security briefing covering potential issues, such as a terrorist attack on No10. Pillows in multi-packs were delivered to No10 ahead of Andy Burnham's arrival on Monday Also among the items being delivered were Russell Hobbs pots, which were carried into Downing Street on Saturday He will then be told by a senior naval commander to write four identical handwritten ‘letters of last resort’ to the Trident submarine commanders – orders which will be applied if the Government has been wiped out in a nuclear attack. A shredder will be wheeled in to destroy the existing letters written by Sir Keir Starmer. Mr Burnham will also have to draw up a shortlist of the most senior aides he would want to join him in a nuclear bunker, as the first calls come in from world leaders. At 2pm, Mr Burnham will move to his office in the Commons where he will summon the Cabinet Ministers being dismissed; at 4pm, he will return to No 10 to appoint their successors under the full glare of the media. He will also be introduced to the duty clerks, Garden Room Girls and manager of the PM’s flat, who will manage his daily life. The splitting up of No10 presents a number of practical challenges – in addition to his own living arrangements – ranging from finding enough officials prepared to move up North to the shocking quality of the wifi on the trains between London and Manchester. Civil servants have already made lists of the staff they can spare to the northern project, to be ready ‘for Monday morning’. Mr Burnham and his wife Marie-France van Heel will move into Downing Street with their children Both Sir Keir and Rishi Sunak explored the idea of living in their family homes while serving as PM, only to be told the demands of the job made it impossible. Sir Keir’s home and car were firebombed by two men last year, who are thought to have been working under instruction from the Kremlin. In 2023, Mr Sunak’s home in Yorkshire was invaded by activists, who scaled the walls and shrouded them in black banners. The Greenpeace rioters stayed on his roof for hours, until they descended and were detained by waiting police officers. The new MP for Makerfield would become the first Premier since Harold Wilson not to live full-time in Downing Street, who opted instead to live nearby at his home in Westminster. Mr Burnham will also have to introduce his rescue dog, Axel, to No10’s resident ‘chief mouser, Larry the cat, who, at the age of 15, has now outlasted six PMs.