Burnham vows public will decide if UK rejoins the EU

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Andy Burnham has vowed that the “public will be the boss” as he seeks to unpick Brexit while dropping his biggest hint yet that he would call a fresh referendum on the UK rejoining the EU.

In a statement to parliament the prime minister said he would use a key UK-EU summit in Brussels next month to push for a Brexit reset aimed at improving relations with the bloc and possibly look to rejoin as part of an attempt to get a better deal.

He warned MPs that “sticking with the status quo is not good enough” while insisting that the “public backs my pragmatic approach”.

Calling on MPs to rethink Brexit in order to secure a deal with Brussels, Mr Burnham said 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.

It came after a weekend where the European Movement UK published a plan for the UK to rejoin the EU by 2036 at the latest.

Meanwhile, as the prime minister took questions in the Commons, a debate was taking place at the same time in Westminster Hall with MPs led by Labour Folkstone MP Tony Vaughan on a petition calling on the UK to rejoin.

During his address, Mr Burnham said he believed the 2016 Brexit referendum was legitimate, despite saying there was Russian interference, and that he would respect the vote. He also gave a strong hint that he will seek to to persuade the public to allow him to reverse the decision.

In response to being asked if he would honour the vote, Mr Burnham: “I’m also going to lead and be prepared to set out options that I think are options Britain should consider. If she [questioner] is saying that she is happy with the status quo, she is in a minority in this country. People know Britain can do better than this. I’m determined to secure better for Britain.”

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 told the Commons 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 bn-a-year boost to the British economy.

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

Just before Mr Burnham gave his statement, representatives of British motor manufacturers – including Honda, Jaguar Land Rover and the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) – joined a forum discussing the damage done to supply chains in the UK and EU by the EU’s plans for Made in Europe rules.

They called for both sides to agree closer alignment as a matter of urgency.

Mr Burnham 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?”

The prime minister also said it was “inconceivable” that Russia did not seek to interfere with the Brexit vote.

On The Rest is Politics podcast over the weekend, the prime minister revealed he had asked, on his arrival in No 10 this summer, whether Moscow had been involved in the vote and was given “the clear answer that yes, there was”.

But on Monday, a Foreign Office minister said Russian attempts to interfere in the Brexit referendum were not successful.

No 10 echoed the comments, saying the government does not believe Russian attempts to interfere with the referendum were successful.

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