Burnham Rails Against Thatcher in Leadership Pitch to Labour

Andy Burnham in Leeds, on May 18.Photographer: Peter Byrne/PA/AP Photo

Pitching to succeed Keir Starmer, Andy Burnham invoked the specter of another former British prime minister — Margaret Thatcher — in his bid to win back working-class voters.

Dressed in a casual black shirt and jacket at an investment summit in Leeds on Monday, Burnham denounced Thatcher’s legacy in the former industrial heartlands of northern England, as he set out a vision that he hopes will propel him to lead the world’s sixth-largest economy.