The UK takes stock of Brexit and Thatcher’s legacy
The majority of Britons agree with Andy Burnham that the country took a wrong turn by leaving the European Union, but they are split over his assertion that Margaret Thatcher’s premiership set the country on the wrong path, reports BritPanorama.
Addressing the House of Commons for the first time as prime minister on Tuesday, the former mayor of Greater Manchester highlighted the negative impacts of deindustrialisation, 1980s privatisation, austerity, and Brexit on regions outside of England’s South East and London.
He listed the “series of wrong turns” the UK has taken over the past 40 years and warned that Brexit had cemented the economic difficulties faced in the last decade.
Mr Burnham stated: “From the 1980s, this country took a series of wrong turns. Political power was centralised, economic power privatised. The country deindustrialised. Austerity followed, hollowing out councils and depriving them of the agency to act to reverse any of this, and then Brexit, compounding the damage, ushering in a decade of low growth and stalled regeneration.”
According to recent polling from YouGov, 55 per cent of British people agree with the prime minister that Brexit was a misstep, while 21 per cent disagree. Among Labour voters in the 2024 general election, 78 per cent viewed Brexit negatively, while 59 per cent of Reform voters supported it.
The Makerfield MP’s statements received backing from pro-EU campaigners following a report detailing an £11.7 billion drop in exports attributed to Brexit, alongside a survey indicating that 98.2 per cent of businesses want the UK to rejoin the single market.
Naomi Smith, chief executive of Best for Britain, remarked: “It’s hugely welcome to hear a prime minister stand at the despatch box and say loudly and clearly that Brexit harmed Britain; far from taking back control, it shrank our economy, left us poorer, weaker, less safe and more divided.”
When it comes to Baroness Thatcher, 35 per cent of Britons believe her tenure as prime minister from 1979 to 1990 represented a wrong turn. Meanwhile, 28 per cent considered it more of a right turn, 14 per cent had no opinion, and 23 per cent were unsure.
Among Conservative voters from the 2024 election, 60 per cent deemed it a right turn, while 57 per cent of Reform voters agreed, compared to 58 per cent of Labour voters who perceived it as a wrong turn.
Mr Burnham criticized the privatisation and centralisation of power from Thatcher’s era, calling it a “failed economic model” that has led to desolate high streets and a dysfunctional water industry. He asserted, “For a long time, the country did not have ambitions for its regions outside of London – it even talked of the managed decline of Liverpool.”
“It took the devolution of power out of this place to allow our big city regions the ability to set new ambitions for themselves,” he added. “Now, I want every single place across our regions and nations to be able to do the same, creating the conditions for good growth in every postcode.”
The discourse around Brexit and its far-reaching consequences continues to resonate within the UK, as opinions remain divided and the path forward becomes a focal point for future governance. The implications of these discussions are likely to shape the political landscape in the years to come.
