Britain lost its way with Thatcher and Brexit, Burnham tells Parliament in first speech

Britain lost its way with Thatcher and Brexit, Andy Burnham tells Parliament in first speech PAUL WALDIE EUROPE CORRESPONDENT LONDON PUBLISHED YESTERDAY Open this photo in gallery: Britain's Prime Minister Andy Burnham leaves 10 Downing Street, London, on Tuesday. STEFAN ROUSSEAU/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS COMMENTS SHARE SAVE FOR LATER Listen to this article Learn more about audio Log in or create a free account to listen to this article. In his first remarks to Parliament as Britain’s new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham has vowed to “unlock a feeling of positivity and possibility,” but he still faces many of the challenges that forced his predecessor to resign. Mr. Burnham took over as Labour Party leader and Prime Minister in July after Keir Starmer stepped down in the wake of relentless pressure from Labour MPs. Since taking office July 20, Mr. Burnham has been on a “listening tour” of the country and visited Ukraine to show solidarity with President Volodymyr Zelensky. His tour ended Tuesday, when MPs returned to the House of Commons from their summer break. In a statement to the Commons followed by more than three hours of questions from MPs, Mr. Burnham promised a different kind of politics and pledged to pursue “problem-solving over point-scoring.” “It is what the country needs. It is what the public want more of, and it will characterize my time in office,” he said. He harked back to days of Margaret Thatcher and blamed her and Brexit for many of the country’s current woes. “From the 1980s, this country took a series of wrong turns,” he told MPs. “Political power was centralized, economic power privatized, the country deindustrialized, austerity followed,” he added. “And then Brexit compounded the damage, ushering in a decade of low growth and stalled regeneration.” He promised to return more power to city and regional councils, increase public ownership of key utilities and shift part of the Downing Street operation to his hometown of Manchester, creating a No. 10 North. Mr. Burnham’s relaxed, almost folksy approach differs sharply from Mr. Starmer’s, who often came across as lawyerly and stiff. The new style has also helped Mr. Burnham breathe new life into Labour. Starmer to stand down as MP to focus on international affairs Under Mr. Starmer, who led the party to a sweeping victory in the 2024 election, Labour’s popularity steadily eroded and was eclipsed by Reform UK and the Conservatives in opinion polls. In the six weeks since Mr.…