Ashley owns Sports Direct. He went after Andy Burnham on Thursday. The row was over 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 advanced policies aimed at supporting troubled high streets. Ashley dismissed the stance. He said it was driven by politics rather than direct retail knowledge. The two are at odds. They differ on how or whether government involvement can reverse the slide of town centre shopping.