Andy Burnham hits back at Blair’s claims Labour is ‘playing with fire’ over policies

Stay up to date with notifications from The IndependentNotifications can be managed in browser preferences.Jump to contentThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inAllNewsSportCultureLifestyleAndy Burnham has criticised Tony Blair, suggesting the former Labour prime minister is out of touch and partly responsible for the rise of politicians like Nigel Farage. Burnham's rebuke follows Sir Tony's warning that Labour is “playing with fire” by moving left and should instead occupy the “radical centre”. The Greater Manchester Mayor argued that Sir Tony fails to acknowledge how inequality drives current politics and that centrists have failed voters, leading to the abandonment of the centre. Mr Burnham also attacked Sir Tony's “obsession” with universities, advocating for a greater focus on technical education. In his essay, Sir Tony warned Labour risks long-term damage to the party and country, lacking a coherent plan, and stated the UK is currently too weak to discuss rejoining the European Union. In fullBurnham hits back at ‘out of touch’ Blair and blames centrists like him for rise of FarageThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in

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