BBC profiles the candidates: Andy Burnham

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

Tuesday brings the second BBC profile of a leadership candidate – and today it’s Andy Burnham. A different candidate will be profiled each day this week.

Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg, Burnham talked about his problems with the Labour party, and appeared to take a mild swipe at a couple of his opponents over their family ties:

“I have felt for a long time that Labour looked like we were dazzled by power money glamour and we didn’t appear to be on the side of ordinary people and we didn’t really understand what peoples lives were like now and I hope that people will see in me someone that they can relate to, somebody they can identify with and who has a pretty good understanding of what their life if like. I’ve come from a very ordinary background myself, and have come in to politics not from a political family or the london chattering classes, obviously i’ve come in a different route.”

Burnham also attacked New Labour over taxation, describing Labour in government as “timid” over tax whilst laying out his plans for a national care service:

“I believe at times New Labour was too timid about tax, but in this case it’s a tax that will benefit everybody, a care levy on estates would provide everybody with piece of mind in later life. They could stop worrying about the costs of care.”

You can watch the video here: