DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Back to the future in Burnham's Britain

Published: 00:24, 30 May 2026 | Updated: 01:02, 30 May 2026 In an essay published yesterday, Andy Burnham gave us his prospectus for government. If he becomes prime minister, he wants to take us back to the 1970s. His central message is that ‘neoliberalism’ has failed this country and what we need is more nationalisation, more state intervention and more market regulation. The self-styled King of the North describes his political philosophy as ‘business-friendly socialism’ (an oxymoron if ever there was one) and argues that growth can only be delivered through ‘strong public control’. He presents all this as a ‘new script’, but in fact it’s a very old one and was tested to destruction in the Wilson/Callaghan years.   The result was that Britain became the Sick Man of Europe. Truculent, over-powerful unions, moribund nationalised industries, endless strikes, failed prices and incomes policies, and income tax of up to 83 per cent, rising to 98 per cent on ‘unearned’ income such as share and savings dividends. Inflation peaked at 27 per cent, the pound crashed and we had to beg the IMF for a loan to keep going. The nightmare came to a head with the 1979 ‘winter of discontent’, when the nation ground to a complete halt. Then came Margaret Thatcher, still the Left’s greatest bete noire. Her free-market remedies for the country’s ills were painful but essential. The socialists had finally run out of other people’s money. To be fair, Mr Burnham says he wants to reduce inequality, and he could achieve that: his economic policies would make us all equally poor. Andy Burnham launched his by-election campaign at the Stubshaw Cross Community and Sports Club in Ashton-in-Makerfield, Greater Manchester on May 22, 2026 The sight of an armed policeman kicking an already tasered suspect in the head is not one we want or expect to see in the UK. It’s especially troubling when the officer is white and the suspect Asian. So, after CCTV footage was released of PC Zachary Marsden kicking Mohammed Fahir Amaaz on the floor at Manchester airport, accusations of police brutality and racism flew. However, a very different story emerged when extended footage showed Amaaz had earlier launched a frenzied attack on two female PCs, one of whom suffered a broken nose.  He was convicted of assaulting the women officers but yesterday acquitted of assault on PC Marsden after the jury failed to reach a verdict following a retrial. PC Marsden remains under investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct over allegations of having used excessive force. It is to be hoped he will be dealt with leniently. His reaction may have been strong, but it was also instinctive. He believed his colleagues and the public were in danger from an extremely violent and unpredictable man.  The race-relations industry wants to pillory the officer further, but it’s vital we look after those who risk their own safety to protect us. Amaaz, on the other hand, deserves to be sentenced using the full force of the law. The fault for this affray was entirely his. He should be taken off the streets for the longest possible time. His ethnicity – and that of PC Marsden – is irrelevant. CCTV shows Amaaz swinging a punch at Manchester Airport - hitting PC Lydia Ward in the nose The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy. On the hunt of the cat killer terrifying a sleepy town: Mutilated felines in a 20ft piranha tank, horrified locals and a piece of evidence that raises sinister questions. FRED KELLY meets owners left distraught