I bet he is feeling the burn(ham) this morning. I noticed on his Twitter age that Burnham is claiming his comments in Parliament last week on EU migrants are being misreported

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...-a7468571.html

Mr Clarke said: “Unlike Andy, going on about free movement of labour, sounding a bit like a paler version of Nigel Farage, Boris has never been anti-immigrant. Boris does realise that the economic interests of Britain are helped if we have free access to the biggest open market in the world.”

Mr Burnham’s comments have also provoked a backlash from within his own party, with Lord Spencer Livermore warning Labour politicians should not indulge “the dangerous fantasy” that the UK is besieged by immigration through “extreme” pronouncements. He told The Guardian: “It just feels like the direction of travel at the moment is all in one direction, and Labour is lurching too far towards an anti-immigration position that hasn’t necessarily been thought through

Free movement of Labour which treats people as economic widgets is very different to immigration a very wide defition which gets mixed with refugees etc. Tedious filibustering chatter by Clarke, Andy Burnham has always had this view about free movement of Labour.

His statements in Parliament were quite close to the bone I doubt even Farage would have said some of this

https://hansard.parliament.uk/search...&memberId=1427

No he knows how Farage feels.

Why can't Ken Clarke and those like him understand that wanting control over immigration doesn't mean you're anti immigrant. It just means you want control over the numbers coming in. Is that so bad?

Indeed, I doubt Farage would, being upper elitist he is.. Burnhams narrative is very different to Farages, I can comfortably assume they have irreconcilable differences.

Anything that Burnham says is to further his chances of becoming Mayor of Manchester.

Indeed. The real concern is population rise, half of which is down to immigration. The net population rise currently running at half a million per year is bound to put pressure on resources.

He certainly seems to gave gone through a brain transplant over recent months as he tries to appeal to Northern Labour and hopes everyone forgets he was a central part of Metropolitan New Labour for many years.

I think the point is that Burnham is putting the boot in to EU migrants to find favour with the large number of people who would benefit from stricter or less EU migration.


He'll prove the adage that anything can get elected in Manchester if it wears a Labour rosette. It's one of the reasons I voted against having an elected mayor - it'll be a Labour feifdom for decades.


And now he would be at home in the more strident wing of UKIP.

So as both main parties frantically chase the 13% of the public who care enough about this to vote UKIP (and the BNP before them), a massive gaping political hole appears to cater for the very large proportion of the country still repulsed by this grubby populism.

Meanwhile I'm not sure Mancunians will be too impressed at a Scouser dumbing down his policies in an attempt to curry favour with them -- does he think Mancs are stupid?

Same old stuff where people deliberately misrepresent that the ability to control immigration means being anti-immigration and that FoM is necessary for immigration from the EU. Clarke is guilty of what he accuses Burnham and Farage of.

Populism or tribalism, not much difference hey.

None of the negative Impacts affect Ken Clarke who can afford to buy himself out of needing public services and I am sure has several very nice houses paid for by his tobacco company directorships.

The man has made a lot of money out of supplying products that kill people.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, to be precise. The city of Manchester has an unelected Lord Mayor.

Clarke is a supercilious **** who so aptly fits the description of "up his own arse" it might have been created for him.

He is an unpleasant individual who has made a good living out of a product that kills thousands of people every day, a man with no moral code whatsoever.

Councilors are elected and so therefore is the Lord Mayor.

I meant that the post is not voted for by the electorate generally, unlike the GM Mayor.

Oh thank you, I thought I was the only one in the UK who thought this! Can't his constituents see this or are they all like him??? Please Ken Clarke constituents - BOOT HIM OUT

OFGS, why doesn't Ken Clark just **** off and join the Libtard Undemocrats

Surely he'll stand down in 2020, and by stand down I mean stand down as MP then become an unelected Lord.

Sorry I love Ken Clarke. He has his opinions and beliefs and is prepared to stand up for them. He defied Tory whip to vote against Iraq. He is a Europhile. He'd be a hypocrite of the first order if he changed his opinion now. He's representing his constituents views anyway. He has been very important in electioneering in East Midlands marginals over many years. Those constituencies aren't won at the right or left but in the centre.

As for Andy Burnham a prime example of a conviction free politician. Says whatever he needs to / jumps on whatever bandwagon is passing. It's about him and furthering his career.

Indeed.

As I said, another grubby populist.

Hit it right on the head there Annsyre. Burnham would do anything to get what he wanted, as he arches his eyebrows and has that look of pity on his face of a dejected dog that had just been castrated.

You're doing it again. You're doing what Ken Clarke, Diane Abbott and co always do - twisting what he said.
He's NOT putting the boot in to the migrants themselves. He's putting the boot into the system that won't allow us to control immigration from EU countries.
This is what Farage is always accused of - having a go at foreigners when all he wants to do is get immigration down to an acceptable level, a level that doesn't put mass pressure on public services and doesn't change the feel of communities.