Undoing Thatcherism Needs a Grand Project

Andy Burnham’s public repudiation of Thatcherite neoliberalism marks a rhetorical turning point, but the author argues that symbolic gestures (cheap buses, small reforms) will not reverse four decades of privatization, austerity and deindustrialization. A coherent program to overturn neoliberal legacies must be strategic, large‑scale and aimed at reshaping state capacity, industry policy and civic identity. — If centre‑left governments fail to translate anti‑neoliberal rhetoric into a systemic program, debates about economic renewal and political realignment will dominate British politics for years.