Burnham’s retro education plans are on collision course with reality

The Burnham Blitz of schemes, dreams and grands projects for post-Starmer Britain is dizzying in its pace, befuddling in its detail. Energy and purpose have given Labour a new spring in its tired step. But which way does the new leader’s vision really face: towards a future which can combine his aims of greater inclusivity and devolution of power with an expansion of growth and opportunity; or a nostalgia-drenched one, peddling solutions that will hit the buffers of a changing job market and ultimately disappoint? He wants to overhaul state education, revivify apprenticeships linked to local industry for pupils from 14, and aims to “re-industrialise” Britain with scant idea of what the trade-offs of that might look like in terms of cost – making things at home is often more expensive than