Andy Burnham launches “Aspirational Socialism” manifesto

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

Andy Burnham has today launched his manifesto for the party leadership – unsurprisingly it’s called “Aspirational Socialism” – and it’s a weighty document. At thirty pages long, it would seem to be an attempt from the Burnham camp to grab attention from the frontrunners, and present him as a serious thinker on a wide range of issues.

The manifesto is certainly varied, encompassing party renewal, comprehensive education and housing to name just a few areas.

The central theme though appears to be Andy’s desire to get across what “Aspirational Socialism” is, as both an over-arching political idea, and the unifying ideology behind Andy’s various policies.

Andy uses the document to promise that if he leads the party, it’ll be:

Redistributive, Collectivist, Aspirational, Sustainable and Internationalist.

This is certainly a document that deserves to be given some consideration and feels like the most in-depth and comprehensive policy document that has been put out by a leadership candidate so far.

Andy has also recorded the following video to mark the manifesto launch: