Episode

Is Andy Burnham Dividing Britain?

Podcast
Afternoon Empire with Ian Collins
Published
Jul 22, 2026
Duration seconds
1876
Processing state
not_requested
Canonical source
https://shows.acast.com/georgegallowaytalkshow/episodes/is-andy-burnham-dividing-britain
Audio
https://sphinx.acast.com/p/acast/s/georgegallowaytalkshow/e/6a60d776562e3ad8867c896f/media.mp3
JSON
/v1/public/podcasts/afternoon-empire-with-ian-collins-1131640/episodes/is-andy-burnham-dividing-britain
Markdown
/podcast/afternoon-empire-with-ian-collins-1131640/is-andy-burnham-dividing-britain.md

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Summary

Is Andy Burnham creating a two-tier Britain? Just days into his premiership, the Prime Minister is facing criticism over a growing North-South divide, a string of expensive spending promises, and mounting questions about how his government will pay the bill. Journalist and author Michael Crick discusses claims that Burnham’s agenda risks deepening regional divisions, why his government is already under pressure over a raft of uncosted pledges, and reports that ministers have now been ordered to find savings despite announcing major new spending commitments. Robert Bates, Research Director at the Centre for Migration, examines the continuing row over asylum accommodation after a village voted on plans to leave the UK over migrant housing proposals, the legal challenge surrounding the use of an army base to house asylum seekers, and his own campaign to force the Government to publish data on serious crimes committed by migrants. Finally, former police officer and Fair Cop founder Harry Miller reacts to the planned early release of PC Andrew Harper’s killers and the backlash after Wes Streeting and Shabana Mahmood apologised for joking about early prisoner releases. Has prison reform gone too far, and is public confidence in the justice system being undermined? Andy Burnham, North-South divide, Labour spending, asylum seekers, immigration, migrant crime, PC Andrew Harper, early prisoner release, criminal justice and British politics. Is Britain becoming more divided under the new government? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.