19th May 2026
Andy Burnham says he wants to break with the failed neoliberal economics that have damaged Britain for decades. He talks about public ownership, reindustrialisation, regional investment and rebuilding public services. But does his programme actually deliver any of those things?.
In this video I look in detail at what Burnham is really proposing, and whether it amounts to genuine economic change or simply a softer version of the same failed system.
I argue that Burnham’s model of “public ownership” often looks remarkably similar to the regulatory framework that already failed in the water industry. Thames Water, sewage dumping, dividend extraction and infrastructure collapse all happened under systems of public regulation combined with private ownership.
At the same time, Burnham says he would still obey Rachel Reeves’ fiscal rules. That means accepting the same Treasury constraints that have blocked serious public investment for decades.
So can you really challenge neoliberalism while reassuring the bond markets, protecting fiscal rules and refusing to confront the power of finance?
This video examines the contradictions at the heart of Burnham’s programme and asks whether Labour still has any real alternative to the economic model that created Britain’s current crisis.