Burnham calls on MPs to rethink Brexit to secure deal with EU

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Andy Burnham has said “sticking with the status quo is not good enough” as he called on MPs to rethink Brexit in order to secure a deal with Brussels.

The prime minister told the Commons it would be a “dereliction of duty” to ignore an opportunity to seek a new deal with the EU, insisting the public supported his approach.

Confirming the date of the EU-UK summit in Brussels on 20 November, which was postponed due to Sir Keir Starmer’s resignation, Mr Burnham said he will “work harder over the next five weeks” to strike a deal.

“I believe our chances of doing so will be enhanced by being open to discussion about our relationship with the EU in the longer term,” he said.

The two sides will seek to sign a new post-Brexit food and drink deal, a youth mobility scheme and an agreement on emissions trading to avoid European carbon taxes on British business.

He told MPs that the British public will “be the boss” of the negotiations, saying: “I am clear, the public opinion currently supports a pragmatic approach like the one I am suggesting.

“If we go into this further phase, we will proceed with care and complete transparency.”

Mr Burnham said the upcoming summit “presents an opportunity to make progress on two crucial issues: boosting UK growth and controlling illegal immigration”.

He said deals on the table for the UK-EU summit could provide a £10 billion-a-year boost to the British economy.

But he acknowledged there could be a row with Brussels over the protectionist “Made in Europe” scheme.

He told MPs: “This summit presents an opportunity to make progress on two crucial issues: boosting UK growth and controlling illegal immigration.

“On the table is a trade deal on food and drink products, a deal on emissions trading, progress towards linking our energy systems, a new youth experience scheme and deeper co-operation on immigration.

“The summit will also be an opportunity to raise our concerns about Made in Europe and it is clear to me that there is an opportunity to make progress in all of these areas.

“Together, these deals will add the equivalent of over £10 billion per year to the UK economy by 2040, with the potential to add significantly more.”

But Kemi Badenoch accused Mr Burnham of revealing his hand before the UK-EU summit, adding: “This is not how you conduct negotiations”.

The Conservative Party leader said that the prime minister is “not going to get a better deal”, and told the Commons: “What has the prime minister chosen to focus on today? Brexit.

“His exact words earlier this year were, ‘the last thing we should do right now is re-run those arguments’.

“And yet here he is unpicking the deal this country signed with the EU a decade after the referendum.

“He is not going to get a better deal. The EU are tough negotiators, and it’s not just that the EU are tough negotiators, he has already revealed his entire negotiating hand.

“He has just blurted out everything he wants in this statement and I will tell him now, as a former trade secretary, this is not how you conduct negotiations.”

Responding, Mr Burnham said: “She says that, oh, I’ve revealed what I want to do and this isn’t any way to negotiate it. Because the Tories were so good, weren’t they, at negotiating deals with our partners?”

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