LONDON — Brexit Britain is a bit like Game of Thrones.

A new queen sits on the iron throne, having seen her rivals disemboweled one by one (politically speaking, of course). She keeps her friends close and her enemies (Boris Johnson) even closer. And now she could face a new threat to her authority — from the North.

Andy Burnham, one-time Labour leadership contender, now favorite to become the first elected mayor of Greater Manchester — England’s third most populous city-region — told POLITICO he wants the north of England to speak “with one voice” during the Brexit negotiations. To make that happen, Burnham said he will “actively pursue” the establishment of a new body with a name that Ned Stark would approve of: the Council of the North.

The council would not be a new tier of government, but rather a group of local and regional leaders who would adopt joint policy positions on key issues where there is common ground across the north of England; be it on Brexit or major infrastructure projects to stimulate the economy.

“There is a real risk of a London-centric Brexit,” Burnham said. “I think it’s crucial that Greater Manchester, Merseyside, the north more generally has a strong voice and input into the whole Brexit process.”

King of the North

The north of England, a geographical and cultural region unto itself with around 15 million inhabitants, is a diverse area. In the standard telling, it was the cradle of the Industrial Revolution that in the latter years of the 20th century fell far behind London in economic importance.

While all that is true, it is also home to thriving cities like Manchester and Liverpool and a growing economy. With the election of newly created "metro mayors" in both places, the North may be moving toward a new kind of political identity.

The idea of a Council of the North has been floated by the Labour Party in recent months. Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown last month called for a new constitutional agreement for the U.K. after Brexit that would include greater representation for the region.

Burnham said if he becomes Manchester mayor he will use his platform to pursue the idea, adding that the first “building block” would be a close partnership between Manchester and Liverpool, where his Labour ally Steve Rotheram is favorite to be elected mayor of the Merseyside city-region.

"We’ll never agree on everything, but on Brexit we might do” — Steve Rotheram

The idea of a council representing the entire north of England — comprising Yorkshire and the Humber, the northeast and the northwest — would not be about “building empires,” Burnham said, but would “grow bottom up.”

Such a body would enable the North to have “a political voice at key political moments,” Burnham said.

“It would be very hard, wouldn’t it, for any government to simply ignore if the North could come to a single position that we all agree on,” he said.

At time of publication, the U.K. government’s Department for Communities and Local Government had not responded to a request for comment on Burnham’s proposals.

Northern Brexit

The first incarnation of the council could come soon after local elections on May 4, when new “metro mayor” positions will be filled in six different regions of England — three of them in the North.

Burnham and Rotheram both lobbied Brexit Secretary David Davis to hold a Brexit committee meeting for northern leaders — similar to the joint ministerial councils for leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Davis confirmed in January that a meeting would be held in York after the mayoral elections.

Burnham now insists this should not be a one-off. “There should be a Brexit committee of the nations and the regions and I think as part of the that the north should speak as much as possible with one voice,” he said.

“Suspend your disbelief and imagine the North is a homogenous area: it would be bigger geographically, bigger population-wise, bigger GDP than Scotland” — Andy Burnham

A Council of the North would, he said, speak up for industries in the region that might benefit from greater flexibility in state aid rules after the U.K. leaves the single market.

Rotheram, meanwhile, said that Liverpool, with its Atlantic port capable of handling large container ships, could be at the heart of a post-Brexit realignment of British trade toward the U.S.

“Suspend your disbelief and imagine the North is a homogenous area: it would be bigger geographically, bigger population-wise, bigger GDP than Scotland,” he said. “And yet [Scottish First Minister] Nicola Sturgeon can pick up the phone at any stage and directly speak to the prime minister, while an area of equal significance, while not a nation in its own right, has no voice at the negotiating table. I do think that anything we can do to speak more clearly with one voice would be positive. We’ll never agree on everything, but on Brexit we might do.”

On track

Burnham and Rotheram also hope an embryonic Council of the North could unite around the issue of rail investment. Both advocate proposals for a new high-speed rail link connecting Liverpool in the west with Hull in the east, taking in the major cities en route.

There have already been formal and informal meetings on the issue between city leaders in the region, one former regional policy official familiar with the discussions said. Any push for a Council of the North spearheaded by Burnham and Rotheram could gain momentum quickly, the official predicted, amid fears that the so-called “Northern Powerhouse” economic redevelopment agenda has fallen down Westminster’s list of priorities under Theresa May.

George Osborne, the former chancellor, was a vocal advocate of the Northern Powerhouse. But since his departure, local authority leaders are looking for new ways to find influence in Westminster.

“No matter what the other leaders may think about Andy Burnham, he’s got profile, and a heightened profile after the May elections. Local leaders are pragmatic and if he wants to form a Council of the North, they will get his star power and they will get listened to in government again," the former regional policy official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said.