Andy Burnham is to recruit a number of advisers to plug gaps in No ۱۰, including an expert on how AI will affect society.
The roles advertised by Downing Street give a glimpse into the biggest challenges facing the prime minister – and what he has decided to prioritise.
The new hires will flesh out the threadbare No ۱۰ policy unit – where many of the roles are still vacant after Keir Starmer’s departure. Senior sources have said the prime minister wanted to take time to recruit advisers.
The adviser on AI, who will be expected to have “deep expertise” in the sector, will be expected to lead preparations for the impact of the AI boom on the workforce, amid significant concerns for lower-level professional services jobs, in particular for new graduates.
They will also be expected to be the main adviser to Burnham on frontier AI, the effects and benefits of AI in public service transformation and other major societal impacts.
Several cabinet ministers have openly expressed concerns about the UK’s readiness for the impact of AI on the workforce and economy, as well as the dangers of unregulated systems.
In his Labour conference speech on ۲۸ September, the foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, said there were “daunting” dangers of AI, saying they could not allow technological advances “to come at the expense of our children or indeed humanity”.
Burnham will also hire an adviser to develop policy on greater public control over everyday essentials – with a roving brief across transport, energy, housing, water and the environment.
The adviser will be asked to focus on the cost of living. The job advert specifically demands an individual who can “bring challenge and external perspectives into policy development”.
Burnham is known to be frustrated with the cautious and limited options presented to him by Whitehall on areas where he is seeking greater public control.
The Guardian reported on Tuesday that Burnham had told officials to rip up their plans on how to fix Thames Water and present him with more radical choices for what to do with the stricken company, including options that could cost more taxpayer money or carry higher legal risk.
Burnham will also recruit an economic adviser to replace Starmer’s aide, Minouche Shafik. The job, which will examine growth and macroeconomic policy, requires “a strong understanding of the economic, fiscal and political context shaping government decision-making”.
Before he became prime minister, Burnham took advice from Andy Haldane, a former Bank of England chief economist, as well as from Richard Hughes, a former chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility, and Jim O’Neill, a cross-bench peer and former Treasury minister.
However, none have agreed to take roles in No ۱۰. Haldane and O’Neill have been critical of Burnham’s economic approach since he entered government, particularly on increased public spending and a lack of growth-oriented policies.
Other roles will include a new adviser on Scotland, an adviser on work and welfare who will report to the new growth director, as well as another post working across immigration, security and justice, looking at cross-border crime, exploitation and illegal migration.
