Ashley owns Sports Direct. He hit out at Andy Burnham on Thursday. The clash was about plans to revive the UK high street. Ashley labelled those proposals populist and delusional. He said they would be disastrous for retail.
Burnham is the Mayor of Greater Manchester. He has pressed policies directed at bolstering struggling high streets. Ashley rebuffed the strategy. He said it was shaped by politics rather than direct retail knowledge. The two are at loggerheads. They are split on how or whether government intervention can stop the slump of town centre shopping.