Beware, Brexiteers: Andy Burnham is coming for you.

The Left has a problem: it knows it needs economic growth, but its absurd, socialist policies will only lead to an even more depressed economy. Labour will need to find a scapegoat, a fall guy for its own errors, and that, of course, will be Brexit. The worse that Burnham’s ideas fail, the more our economy stagnates, the fewer jobs are created, the louder the clamour to Rejoin the EU will be.

Several of Burnham’s economic advisers are advocating some grown-up proposals, such as simplifying the tax system (Andy Haldane) or ditching the triple-lock (a policy also endorsed by Lord O’Neill of Gatley). These would help, but it is a raging certainty they won’t be implemented. Just as Keir Starmer claimed to want to build more homes, so does Burnham, but he too will miss any serious target given the insane thicket of rules and taxation discouraging the building of new properties.

There is lots to disagree with when it comes to some of the other ideas proffered by Haldane (ex-Bank of England), O’Neill (ex-Goldman Sachs) and Richard Hughes (ex-OBR), names that are giving the incoming Labour leader advice, formally or informally. But they are all proper economists, and O’Neill in particular is right to be opposed to wealth taxes.

This last position won’t go down well with others who appear to have Burnham’s ear, including Miatta Fahnbulleh, MP for Peckham, former boss of the New Economics Foundation and somebody who seems to specialise in destructive policies. The Left’s “big idea” in 2026, shared by Fahnbulleh, Burnham and Ed Miliband (whether or not he becomes chancellor) is to tax wealth, as opposed to income, a lot more. This will be a disaster.

Burnham will go to war on homeowners, especially in London and the South, already reeling from Rachel Reeves’s looming council tax supplement, and against anybody with the temerity to have accumulated assets, exacerbating the exodus of entrepreneurs and investors from Britain. Burnham will increase capital gains tax, presumably aligning the rate to that of income tax, a move that will halt transactions, lead to a decline in revenues and cripple investment. He will regulate and nationalise everything that moves. His other policies, such a further extension of devolution, will also fail. The only ray of hope is if the restrictions on North Sea oil and gas are loosened, though taxes would also have to be cut for it to be worthwhile for firms to explore and produce more.