On Brexit, Andy Burnham could do worse than follow the lead of Pericles | Letter

The Athenian led the people, he didn’t follow them, writes Prof Costas Milas

Your editorial ( The Guardian view on a changing Brexit debate: Kemi Badenoch is trapped in denial, 29 October ) notes that when it comes to Brexit, Andy Burnham appears to be following the voters. This, in my humble opinion, is a problem. Thucydides noted about Pericles, the Athenian statesman, that “it was he who led them [the people], rather than they who led him”.

It was arguably the constant and thoughtful guidance of Pericles to his fellow Athenian citizens that made Athens the dominant political and economic power, respected by its friends and enemies alike. Burnham needs to take the lead and show his cards on what type of relationship he wants to pursue with our European partners. To do so, he could start by asking the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to produce an independent and authoritative analysis of the benefits and drawbacks of the different types of closer relationship with the EU.

The analysis should consider the potential impact of measures of UK economic policy uncertainty , which spiked during the Brexit referendum and remained notably elevated afterwards. The analysis should also model the very structural change currently taking place in the UK economy. Had there been no structural change (either abrupt or slow-moving), there wouldn’t have been any reason for voting in favour of Brexit in the first place.

The OBR has the knowledge and expertise to model the economic impact of the UK’s return to the EU. Burnham could then use the analysis to make his case to voters and lead the way, as Pericles would have done. Prof Costas Milas University of Liverpool