Andy Burnham’s call for Britain to consider reversing Brexit has sparked opposition from Labour’s trade union allies, with one senior union leader warning: ‘We can’t go back to where we were before.’
The Prime Minister, who has said he would like to see the UK rejoin the European Union during his lifetime, has promised to ‘explore options’ for a new long-term relationship with the bloc.
He is expected in Brussels on Friday to finalise his Brexit ‘reset’ with EU leaders. Agreements are due to cover food and drink, youth mobility and emissions trading.
Mr Burnham also hopes to use the summit to ‘set up a serious dialogue’ about Britain’s future relationship with the EU, arguing that the ‘status quo is not good enough’.
He has indicated that the UK could seek to rejoin the EU customs union or single market, and has even suggested going ‘all the way’ by returning as a member state.
However, the Prime Minister’s apparent willingness to revisit the 2016 Brexit decision is causing increasing unease within Labour.
Gary Smith, general secretary of the GMB union, told The Sunday Times: ‘I would be cautious about fully rejoining… we can’t go back to where we were before.’
‘A lot of Europe is now seeing low productivity, high unemployment and the rise of the Right.’
Andy Burnham has said he wants the UK to explore a new long-term relationship with the EU and has expressed a wish for Britain to rejoin the bloc during his lifetime
GMB general secretary Gary Smith said he would be cautious about fully rejoining the EU, warning: ‘We can’t go back to where we were before’
Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite, is also understood to oppose rejoining the EU.
A source from the union told the newspaper: ‘Unite’s position is clear: it wants the UK to get as close as possible without rejoining.’
GMB and Unite are two of Labour’s largest trade union donors and wield considerable influence over the party’s policy direction.
Opposition to Mr Burnham’s approach has also emerged among Labour MPs from across the party’s factions.
Jon Trickett, the veteran MP for Normanton and Hemsworth, is expected to publish a list of 12 reasons why he believes returning to the bloc would be a mistake.
Brian Leishman, MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, described the EU as ‘imperialist’ and ‘capitalist’ earlier this month.
Jonathan Hinder, the MP for Pendle and Clitheroe, has meanwhile warned against ‘signing up to rules we have no say over’.
New research claims that rejoining the EU could cost the UK £750million a week in membership contributions.
The study, commissioned by the newly formed Stay Out campaign group, said the EU’s annual budget has doubled since Britain voted to leave a decade ago.
The UK would also be required to contribute towards a series of new environmental levies introduced by the EU.
Senior EU figures have additionally warned that Britain would not retain the annual budget rebate negotiated by Margaret Thatcher if it rejoined.
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden told Sky News on Sunday that Britain needed ‘a closer relationship’ with the EU, while adding: ‘I don’t think the end state of this is defined yet.’
Mr Burnham said this weekend that Britain had ‘lost more than we gained’ during the decade since the EU referendum.
Speaking at the Welsh Labour conference on Saturday ahead of the UK-EU summit, the Prime Minister said: ‘I think we’ve lost more than we’ve gained over the last ten years.
‘I think the Conservatives gave Britain a harsher and harder Brexit than people thought they were getting when they voted in 2016, because they burned all of our bridges in the aftermath, with the EU.
‘So I’m going to lead as Prime Minister on this issue, and I’m going to go and try and get the best deal I can.’