Andy Burnham in a speech this afternoon in Leeds has said that he has no intention of opening up the debate on Brexit
Speaking at the Great North Investment summit he said:
“I respect the decision that was made at the referendum. It’s going to undermine everything I’ve said about strengthening democracy if we don’t respect that vote.” He added that the government needs a “relentless” domestic focus and should “fix” Britain before getting caught up about membership of international blocs
In the speech he set out some of the policies that he expects to stand on arguing that the U.K. has been on “the wrong path” for decades, blaming deindustrialization, deregulation, privatisation and government cuts.
“It all adds up to 40 years of neo-liberalism that have not been kind to the north of England,” he said.
“That system has siphoned wealth out of those places and into the hands of people for whom life was already very good,” he said. “It created an economy that didn’t work for most working people. It led to the loss of good jobs, the decline of our high streets and the neglect of our towns. It led to people paying over the odds for the daily basics: energy, housing, water, transport
Labour he said had failed voters in the north.
‘I know what my party has offered in the past has simply not good enough. The loss of faith of voters across The North – so many of whom once saw us as their natural party – is our fault and nobody else’s
He also accused Nigel Farage and Reform UK of being ‘cheerleaders for the Thatcherite policies that laid us low in the first place’.
‘Will they now disown them, apologise for them?’ He said
