Andy Burnham has called for sweeping state intervention as he laid out his vision for the Labour Party in a riposte to Sir Tony Blair.
In a 1,500 essay for the Times Burnham blamed Blair-era economics for the cost of living crisis and warned Britain risks “a toxic, divisive politics like the USA”.
He said: “The Labour Government in which I was proud to serve did many great things. It did not, however, take us off the direction set by the Thatcher path.”
He added: “This has given us 40 years of neoliberalism and the simple truth is this: it has not been kind to communities in Makerfield and those like them across the UK. Trickle-down economics did not in the end trickle down very much at all.”
He warned that Britain was drifting towards a “toxic, divisive politics like the US, with all the social harm that comes with that”
Burnham argued the political turmoil in Britain and the West had been driven primarily by falling living standards after the 2008 financial crash, which he blamed on deregulation.
Burnham said will “fix the dysfunctional parts of Whitehall, particularly the Home Office, to restore confidence” but personally praises Shabana Mahmood who he says is “making progress”
Blair’s call to do “whatever it takes” to tackle Channel crossings “echoes many people in Makerfield in calling for the establishment of much firmer control” he said
Britain has a “bloated national state and a threadbare local one” and powers should be stripped from Whitehall
