Despatch: Andy Burnham is overrated
Andy Burnham is heading for a leadership bid, and he's arrived with a big idea: Manchesterism. Apparently a form of business-friendly socialism, it's built on borrowing, backed by the Manchester skyline, and presented as a credible alternative to both austerity and the hard left. There is just one problem: it doesn't add up.
Mani Basharzad of the Institute of Economic Affairs argues that the Manchester model rests on borrowing that bond markets are already pricing with suspicion, a council that is among the most indebted in the country, and a breezy confidence that infrastructure debt is…
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