Andy Burnham has opened the door to fighting the next election on the UK rejoining the EU, but said his immediate priority was continuing to rebuild bridges with European allies.
The prime minister, who will hold his first meeting with the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, on Tuesday, did not rule out including reversing Brexit in Labour’s next manifesto – but suggested the country should focus on securing closer trading ties first.
Ministers have expressed fears privately that the EU reset has lost significant momentum since Burnham became prime minister, and a summit on the issue is likely to be delayed again unless the bloc agrees to discuss legislation that could lock British business out of parts of EU industry.
Burnham has said he will stick to Keir Starmer’s red lines this side of an election, but he is under pressure from Labour MPs who opposed Brexit to change tack, in part because of the potential boost to growth, even though his own seat of Makerfield voted to leave.
Asked by reporters on his flight to New York on Monday for the UN general assembly whether he could rule out a reversal of Brexit being in the next Labour manifesto, he said: “Our focus at the moment is on a UK/EU summit which we hope will take place later this year.
“My immediate priority is to build on the good work that Keir did in rebuilding bridges. Because those bridges were broken in the early part of this decade. And Keir did a good job in re-establishing that relationship.
“What we have got to do now is go to the next level in terms of reaching practical agreement that will further boost the British economy. And those issues are the substance of the summit alongside EU requests around youth mobility.”
The prime minister admitted he had concerns about the bloc’s “made in Europe” legislation, which is designed to curb China’s increasing presence but could also affect British industry and supply chains.
He said he would share those concerns “in a constructive spirit” with von der Leyen. “The other issues you discuss, they are for another day,” he said of rejoining the bloc.
Burnham said the UK had considerable support among EU member states for its position on the “made in Europe” legislation, which threatens to scupper ongoing negotiations about the reset.
“Europe’s argument is not with us. We both suffer the same effects as other countries, particularly steel,” he said.
after newsletter promotion
“We are making the argument we are not your enemies here … we are not the problem. ‘Made in Europe’ is dealing with a different problem.”
He also said delicate UK/Ireland supply chains could end up being “collateral damage” of any disagreement with the EU.
“Let’s work towards a trusted partner approach that doesn’t cause a problem where there wasn’t a problem and where we have common cause,” he said.
In his speech to the UN on Tuesday night, Burnham will reflect on the 10 years since Brexit and say the UK needs to be more clear-eyed about the risks to its democratic system.
“I’m reflecting on that last decade,” he told reporters on his plane. “What we’ve experienced is when that turbulence comes, when outside actors seek to manipulate, to distort facts, influence the British democratic process.
“Going into the next decade we need to be clear-eyed about that and become stronger and more on the front foot about challenging that.
“Perhaps Britain can say we have experienced some of the turbulence before others in terms of the politics of recent times. We need to be clearer where outside forces, our enemies, are trying to manipulate that opinion and feeling to serve their interests, not ours.”
