UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has criticized the current Brexit agreement, stating that it falls short of serving Britain’s interests effectively. Burnham highlighted that the economic impact and immigration challenges post-Brexit have not met the expectations set during the 2016 referendum campaign. He has called for closer ties with the European Union, although he ruled out significant changes to the relationship during the current parliamentary term.
Burnham argued that Brexit had resulted in a tougher deal than promised to voters, affecting the economy and complicating efforts to manage irregular migration. Despite these challenges, he emphasized that any decision to rejoin the EU should be driven by the public’s will and is not on the agenda for the current term.
Addressing immigration, Burnham noted that leaving the EU has made it harder to manage irregular entries into the UK. He voiced support for stricter settlement rules for foreign workers, suggesting that permanent residency should be earned rather than automatically granted.
The upcoming UK-EU summit on November 20 presents an opportunity to negotiate benefits for British businesses, particularly in the food manufacturing sector, which have been affected by trade barriers following Brexit. Burnham’s comments come amid political tensions, with some Labour representatives concerned that revisiting the Brexit debate could open doors for rival parties in constituencies that favored leaving the EU.
Burnham reiterated that there would be no attempt to rerun the Brexit referendum and stressed the importance of the British public determining the future relationship with the EU. He also dismissed the possibility of an early general election and indicated that the forthcoming budget should aim to provide economic stability for households and businesses.