Burnham rules out EU rejoin this Parliament but wants it in his lifetime

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has ruled out the UK rejoining the European Union during this Parliament, but said he would like to see it happen within his lifetime. His comments came as he prepared for an EU summit on 20 November, where he wants to secure a more practical relationship with Brussels.

Burnham said he would respect the 2016 referendum result and was not proposing that the UK considers rejoining. He argued that Brexit has been damaging, but also said the last thing the country should do now is rerun the old arguments. He added that he would never move ahead of the British public on Brexit.

At the summit, Burnham said he wants to pursue practical steps on:

• farming and food manufacturing;
• immigration collaboration;
• rebuilding a returns agreement that was lost after Brexit.

He argued that the UK has lost immigration control in the way it once had, pointing to the small boats crisis. He said the economy and immigration control are both weaker than before, and that the government should be honest about how life has changed in the 10 years since Brexit.

A cabinet minister, Sally Jameson, said the government was not necessarily saying rejoining the EU is where it is heading. She said ministers would wait for the summit, set out options, make a decision for the next manifesto and let the British people decide. Downing Street also claimed the Prime Minister is not leaning either way on closer EU ties.

Burnham later clarified that he would not allow the UK to join EU freedom of movement without a referendum. He said he was not saying that the previous day and repeated that he would not get ahead of the public.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage criticised Burnham's position. He said the Prime Minister has no mandate to agree anything at the Brussels summit and called any such move a betrayal of Brexit and of what Burnham promised voters in Makerfield. Farage argued that none of it could legitimately be done without a general election.

The debate also drew attention to Burnham's earlier comments. In a 2016 Commons speech, he said it was time to move beyond rerunning the referendum arguments and argued that free movement had made life more difficult in some communities. Critics said his current language about an honest discussion sits awkwardly with that record. Supporters said he is trying to improve a relationship that is not working well for business or the country. A panel discussion noted that any move back into the single market, customs union or freedom of movement would conflict with Labour's manifesto this Parliament, but that smaller changes such as electronic passport gates and mutual recognition of veterinary standards could be pursued.

A Liberal Democrat frontbencher said Burnham was taking their lines on Brexit, pointing to his comments on immigration and the claim that promises made in 2016 have not been realised.