Burnham’s 70s-style Socialism and big-state agenda are a toxic mix designed to deliver only economic ruin

Road to ruin Andy Burnham is so wedded to 1970s-style Socialism that he appears to have no clue how economic growth actually works. Despite all the evidence from history, our Bus Conductor-in-Chief remains determined to let the dead hand of the State throttle all aspects of our lives. Andy Burnham has been accused of putting Britain on the road to economic ruin with his 1970s-style Socialist agenda Credit: Reuters The PM and his deputy Louise Haigh, above, are accused of putting the State in the driving seat instead of freeing businesses and individuals to deliver growth Credit: Getty It is a terrifying misunderstanding of how modern economies work. Governments DON’T create growth, they can only summon up the best conditions for it. That should mean the State getting out of the way and freeing individuals and businesses to invest. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! But yet again the PM and his deputy Louise Haigh told MPs they would deliver the very opposite: public control of energy, housing and water, plus a costly programme of devolution. The problem for them and Chancellor John Healey is that for a second day running, the markets simply weren’t buying it. READ MORE FROM THE SUN SAYS They sent the cost of Government borrowing to the highest level in 28 years, blowing a £14billion hole in the nation’s finances. Burnham still insists that tackling the cost of living is his top priority. But how does he square that with the fact that Labour’s addiction to welfare and spending is guaranteeing interest rate spikes, food price surges and tax rises that clobber working families? As for creating the best platform for growth, Net Zero has saddled Britain with the highest electricity costs in the world, making the PM’s plans for “reindustrialisation” a pipe dream. Most read in The Sun National Insurance and business rates have crippled businesses and left a million young people jobless. That’s a toxic left-wing mix designed to deliver only economic ruin. Firing blanks Yesterday Andy Burnham told MPs he would commit to spending 3 per cent of GDP on defence — only for Downing Street to later insist it wasn’t confirmed. While he dithered, Kemi Badenoch’s Tories have a sensible alternative plan: re-introducing the two-child benefit cap to cut the welfare bill and ditching the Chagos Islands giveaway. As Kemi rightly says, a country that spends more on benefits than bullets is guaranteeing its own surrender. Deal is sunk Whether or not the hopeless “one in, one out” migrant deal with France is scrapped, it will make no meaningful difference to stopping the boats. Britain remains a magnet for young men from countries who don’t share our culture or values but want to exploit a system offering free housing, welfare, health and other benefits. Small deals with the French are no substitute for what we really need: a Rwanda-style return scheme. Comment now