PM Burnham blames Brexit for ‘decade of low growth’ in UK

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has lashed out at the legacy of Brexit, saying it “ushered in a decade of low growth” which the UK is still paying for. In his his first statement as prime minister to the Commons on Wednesday, he listed the “series of wrong turns” the UK has made since the 1980s and warned Brexit had embedded the problems caused by over-centralisation of government, deindustrialisation and privatisation of industry.Turning to the series of wrong turns that have led to the decline of living standards in the UK, he made a point of blasting Brexit, having said a year ago when he was mayor of Manchester that he favoured rejoining the EU.

“The decade of low growth has partly been the result of BREXIT and the sooner the party opposite accepts that the more we can start to face up to Britains future” Prime Minister Andy Burnham #PMQs ????

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— Peter Stefanovic (@peterstefanovic.bsky.social) September 2, 2026 at 5:06 PM

He informed the House. “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.” He recommitted the UK’s support for Ukraine and praised his Tory and Labour predecessors in providing the leadership to take on Vladimir Putin.he hinted electoral reform could be on the cards.
Burnham warned that Brussels' Made In Europe agenda "could pose significant problems for British steel", as he said he wanted a "closer relationship" with the EU.