Britain's problems? I blame Thatcher and Brexit, says Burnham: No wonder Kemi mocked him for 'living in the past' as the 'Messiah without a mandate' made his Commons debut as PM

Andy Burnham was on Tuesday accused of 'living in the past' after blaming Margaret Thatcher and Brexit for Britain's problems.The new Prime Minister used his first statement to Parliament to set out a Left-wing vision for the country involving greater state control of the economy.Mr Burnham acknowledged that, two years into a Labour government that promised to deal with the cost of living, life was still 'too expensive and too hard for too many'.He said the Government would be 'relentless' in taking more control over nationalised utilities such as water and energy. And he claimed a new wave of devolution could drive economic growth.But he refused to rule out further tax rises in next month's Budget. And he said he would not sanction 'crude cuts' to the bloated benefits system, despite warnings the runaway costs risk bankrupting the country.Instead, the Prime Minister suggested he will try to reverse Mrs Thatcher's reforms, which are credited with lifting Britain out of the economic stagnation of the 1970s.Kemi Badenoch said Mr Burnham's plans would take the country backwards, adding that Labour's £70billion of tax rises had 'crushed the economy' and urging him to cut the burden on families and business.And she ridiculed him for 'still complaining about Margaret Thatcher', adding: 'He is living in the past. He wants to take us back to the 1970s.' Mr Burnham acknowledged that, two years into a Labour government that promised to deal with the cost of living , life was still 'too expensive and too hard for too many' It came as:Economists issued a fresh warning about tax rises as turmoil on the bond markets blew a £6billion hole in the public finances;Keir Starmer announced he will quit Parliament immediately despite previously pledging not to;Green Party leader Zack Polanski hinted he will stand against Labour in a by-election in Sir Keir's seat;An opinion poll put the Tories ahead of Reform for the first time in 18 months;The PM refused to commit to spending 3 per cent of GDP on defence by the end of the decade;Mr Burnham acknowledged that his devolution plans could create a 'two-tier England' but insisted he would work with rural areas which did not want an elected mayor;Mrs Badenoch accused the PM of 'putting victims through hell' by flip-flopping over the early release of dangerous prisoners;The PM cleared the way for councils to introduce a new 'hotel tax' on overnight stays;Mr Burnham said he was ready to work with the Lib Dems to tear up the first-past-the-post voting system;The PM said he was 'concerned' about plans to switch off Freeview TV services and could scrap the idea.Mr Burnham has enjoyed a scrutiny-free summer since gaining power just days after MPs departed for their long break in mid-July.But on Tuesday he was peppered with dozens of questions during a gruelling three-and-a-half-hour session in the Commons.The PM claimed he would 'unlock a feeling of positivity and possibility in every postcode in Britain', but gave little new detail of how his plans will work in detail. In their first direct clashes, Kemi Badenoch ridiculed Mr Burnham for blaming Thatcher four decades after she was in powerMr Burnham has made his debut in the Commons as it returns from the summer recessInstead, he blamed Mrs Thatcher and Brexit for Britain's problems. 'From the 1980s, this country took a series of wrong turns,' he said. 'Political power was centralised, economic power privatised, the country deindustrialised, austerity followed, hollowing out councils and depriving them of the agency to act to reverse any of this.'And then Brexit compounded the damage, ushering in a decade of low growth and stalled regeneration.'Mr Burnham, who has tried to adopt a more down-to-earth approach than Sir Keir, left MPs baffled as he said he was in favour of a 'triple helix theory of economic development', involving universities, government and business.He also confirmed plans to take greater state control over the water and energy utilities, describing the privatised water industry as a 'leaking monument' to the approach taken by Mrs Thatcher, and saying it was a symbol of 'a country run in the private rather than public interest'.But Mrs Badenoch said Mr Burnham's approach would worsen Britain's problems.'His ideas are all about more government control – more spending, more tax, more politicians,' she said. 'He thinks if government spends more money we will all get richer. That is not how this works.'Companies are not leaving our shores because there isn't enough government.'Mr Burnham also faced a warning from his own side that a string of eye-catching policies over the summer would not be enough to turn the economy around.Darren Jones, who served in the previous Cabinet as Sir Keir's chief secretary, said the 'sugar rush of short-term announcements' would be 'meaningless' unless the new PM also tackled Britain's fundamental problems.Writing in The Times, Mr Jones also warned against raising public spending even higher, saying: 'We shouldn't rely on public spending as a route to some romantic version of making Britain great again as we look in the rearview mirror for a great history no longer available to us. We must face the future.'Mr Burnham's comments on Brexit suggest he could move further and faster than Sir Keir in unpicking the 2016 referendum decision. He told MPs there was 'no doubt our growth has been hit in the last decade' by the decision to leave the EU.The PM is expected to raise the issue when he hosts French president Emmanuel Macron for talks this week.