POLL OF THE DAY: Can Andy Burnham revive Britain's 1970s 'working-class aspiration', as he claims?

Published: 12:00, 30 June 2026 | Updated: 12:16, 30 June 2026 Andy Burnham said he wants to revive the 'working-class aspiration' he remembered from his childhood in the 1970s. The would-be prime minister set out a Left-wing manifesto, including a new wave of council-house building, a focus on factory jobs and state control of the utilities. Mr Burnham said: 'Let me just take you back to the 1970s… when we were growing up here amongst the friends we had at school, there were two things that were the foundations of working-class aspiration: a council home, a secure home that was the foundation for everything, and then good technical education. 'Those things have been taken away in the decades since, so no wonder so many young people struggle to make it work… don't blame them, blame ourselves.' But do you think Mr Burnham can make his pledge a reality? Vote in our latest poll: In yesterday's poll, Mail readers were asked: 'Will Britain go in a 'new direction' under Andy Burnham, as he promises?' Out of more than 16,000 votes, 86 per cent of you said 'no' and 14 per cent said 'yes'.  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.