Ashley owns Sports Direct. He went after Andy Burnham on Thursday. The clash was about plans to revive the UK high street. Ashley called those proposals populist and delusional. He maintained they would be disastrous for retail.
Burnham is the Mayor of Greater Manchester. He has pushed policies aimed at aiding ailing high streets. Ashley dismissed the approach. He said it was shaped by politics instead of practical retail knowledge. The two are at odds. They are split on how or whether government action can undo the slide of town centre shopping.