Burnham Blames Thatcher, Brexit for UK Weakness

Andy Burnham used his first appearance in the House of Commons as prime minister to argue that Britain’s weak economic performance over the past decade stems from “wrong turns” taken over the last 40 years, singling out Brexit and former prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

Speaking around six weeks after taking office, Burnham told MPs he wanted to build “substantial change” and restore optimism, saying the country was “not where any of us would wish it to be” and that “things are not working as they should”.

Brexit Hit Shown In Company Data

Economists’ analysis of internal Bank of England data on thousands of UK firms found the economy took a 6% hit from the effects of Brexit following the referendum a decade ago.

Burnham, whose Makerfield constituency voted for Brexit, said the leave decision reflected a chain of earlier policy failures that began in the 1980s and were later compounded by leaving the EU. He also reiterated that he believed rerunning the referendum would be a mistake, while saying he wanted Britain to rejoin in his lifetime.

He suggested the next UK–EU reset summit could take place in November.

Government Priorities for Cost, Communities And Control

As Keir Starmer stepped down as an MP shortly before Burnham’s Commons address, prompting a byelection in a seat where the Greens are expected to do well, the prime minister set out plans his cabinet was briefed on earlier this week.

He said the government’s priorities were cutting the costs of essentials such as childcare and mortgages, regenerating communities, and increasing public control over water, housing and energy.

Burnham’s deputy, Louise Haigh, will lead task forces on each of the areas, according to reporting, and the ministers had been told they must be “relentless” in delivering the priorities.

The proposals are set against a difficult economic outlook. The chancellor’s “headroom” against Labour’s fiscal rules could be cut by about half at his first budget if a current global bond sell-off continues, economists have warned. Mortgage rates could also rise this autumn.

Defence, Water Renationalisation And Electoral Reform

In the Commons, Burnham also made a series of signals on policy.

He hinted the government would commit to spending 3% of GDP on defence by 2030, saying he appointed John Healey as chancellor because of his stance on military spending.

On water, Burnham said he is looking at “all possible solutions” and said the sector is a “leaking monument” to the failures of privatisation, leaving open the prospect of renationalisation.

He also indicated Labour could revisit electoral reform in its next manifesto. Burnham said there would need to be a mandate and that achieving a consensus would be necessary for any change to be implemented in the following parliament.

Cop31 Trip And A Pragmatic Energy Approach

Burnham said he will attend the Cop31 climate summit in Turkey and continue pursuing green energy, while arguing he would be “pragmatic” on energy supply. He said it would be wrong to frame policy as choosing between options for political purposes, saying the UK would need “both”.

The speech was made while he was flanked by Healey and Haigh, and Burnham linked his argument to earlier changes in power and industry, saying political authority had been centralised, economic power privatised, and the country de-industrialised, before austerity hollowed out councils.

He said honesty about what went wrong was a starting point for change and added that his government would be “relentless” in delivering the “ownership and control” it had promised.

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2 September 2026