Burnham to oppose digital ID plan and slams criticism

ANDY Burnham said he opposed plans for digital ID and rejected suggestions he was “hopeless” on the economy as he defended his recent interventions in national politics.

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The Greater Manchester Mayor said “not now” when asked if he was in favour of rolling out the identity system announced by the Prime Minister last week.

And he left the door open for a future leadership bid, insisting “you would have to wrench” him out of the northwest but refusing to rule out the prospect of leaving his mayoralty before the end of the term.

Speaking at an event on the fringes of Labour’s annual conference, Mr Burnham hit back at criticism of his recent headline-grabbing proposals for changes to tax and spend.

“I reject entirely this idea that I'm sort of hopeless and I've no idea about how to make it add up,” he said.