Andy Burnham Accuses Tony Blair of Ignoring Inequality in 5,600-Word Labour Critique
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 27
Andy Burnham Accuses Tony Blair of Ignoring Inequality in 5,600-Word Labour Critique
5 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 27
Andy Burnham said Tony Blair’s 5,600-word essay on Labour “doesn’t mention inequality once,” arguing the former prime minister no longer understands why voters feel the political centre has failed them.
The Greater Manchester mayor said 40 years of widening inequality had made basic living costs unaffordable and pushed voters toward the extremes, rejecting Blair’s call for Labour to embrace the “radical centre.”
Blair had attacked the government for having “no coherent plan,” warning against a leftward shift and criticizing measures including stronger workers’ rights and higher employer National Insurance contributions as harmful to business confidence.
The clash lands as Burnham seeks a return to Parliament in the 18 June Makerfield by-election, a race seen as closely fought with Reform UK and one that could position him for a future Labour leadership bid.
Labour’s wider rebuttal also came from pensions minister Torsten Bell, who said Blair’s essay engaged big themes but lacked a project suited to current Britain, arguing that invoking AI was not a plan.
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