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 .

Prime Minister Andy Burnham speaking during Prime Minister's Questions at the House of Commons.Andy Burnham has been accused of putting Britain on the road to economic ruin with his 1970s-style Socialist agenda Credit: Reuters Louise Haigh, First Secretary of State of the UK, arriving at No 10 North at Heron House in Manchester.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.

But yet again the PM and his deputy told MPs they would deliver the very opposite: public control of , housing and water, plus a costly programme of devolution.

The problem for them and Chancellor is that for a second day running, the simply weren’t buying it.

, blowing a £14billion hole in the nation’s finances.

Burnham still insists that tackling the 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.

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, re-introducing the and ditching the Chagos Islands giveaway.

As Kemi rightly says, a country that spends more on 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 .

Small deals with the French are no substitute for what we really need: a Rwanda-style return scheme.