Ashley owns Sports Direct. He went after Andy Burnham on Thursday. The row was about plans to revive the UK high street. Ashley called those proposals populist and delusional. He stated they would be disastrous for retail.
Burnham is the Mayor of Greater Manchester. He has advanced policies aimed at supporting ailing high streets. Ashley rejected the strategy. He said it was driven by politics instead of practical retail knowledge. The two are at loggerheads. They are split on how or whether government intervention can undo the slide of town centre shopping.