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Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced his intention to pursue new agreements with the European Union during an upcoming summit next month. He emphasized that fostering “deeper cooperation” on vital sectors such as youth mobility, food and drink, and energy could significantly contribute to the United Kingdom’s economic growth. Addressing MPs, Burnham highlighted concerns over the EU’s “Made In Europe” initiatives, describing them as a potential threat to UK manufacturing. He confirmed ongoing discussions aimed at reaching an arrangement favorable to the UK, noting that these EU proposals seek to shield EU industries from competition, particularly from China, but may adversely affect British industries and their supply chains.
Despite Burnham’s eagerness to strengthen ties with the EU, he reaffirmed Labour’s current manifesto commitments, which rule out a return to the single market, customs union, or freedom of movement until the next general election. He described achieving a successful outcome at the November summit as an “immediate priority,” and expressed his belief that a thorough and serious dialogue about future UK-EU relations should follow. Throughout this process, Burnham insisted that public opinion would remain paramount, stressing that the British public currently supports what he called a pragmatic approach to these negotiations. Yet, in interviews following the Labour conference, he did not dismiss the possibility of a future manifesto revision that might include rejoining the EU.
Burnham laid out the economic background underpinning the discussion, recalling the 2020 Brexit withdrawal agreement that settled the UK’s financial obligations to the EU and allowed regulatory divergence necessary for trade deals with other countries. Nevertheless, this regulatory divergence, particularly in food standards, complicated British exports to the EU’s largest market. Efforts to address these issues were initiated under Sir Keir Starmer, leading to a post-Brexit agreement in May 2025 that permitted continued EU access to UK fishing waters until 2038. In exchange, this deal reduced checks on food exports, allowing the UK to resume exports of raw burgers and sausages to the EU for the first time since Brexit. Burnham said that next month’s summit will consider deals on food and drink, energy trading, and immigration cooperation, which he estimates could boost the economy by approximately £10 billion annually by 2040. He criticized existing bureaucratic hurdles, citing instances where whole truckloads of fresh produce are destroyed over minor paperwork errors, and described the impacts on exports, including Scottish salmon facing a 100% rate of document checks costing around £100 million annually.
In addition to trade issues, Burnham emphasized the potential benefits of an energy agreement with the EU involving emissions trading, which could reduce wholesale energy costs by 20% in Northern Ireland and ease price pressures on supermarkets. He also expressed hopes for renewed collaboration between UK and EU police and security services to enhance information sharing and combat smuggling networks. The Prime Minister framed transparent discussions with the EU as essential to advancing growth, immigration control, and security, warning that maintaining the status quo would be insufficient for the country’s future.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch criticized Burnham for attempting to “unpick” the Brexit deal the UK signed following the 2016 referendum. Badenoch argued that Burnham’s efforts would not secure a better agreement than the one already achieved by the Conservatives and accused him of prematurely revealing his negotiating positions ahead of the summit. She added, “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.” Badenoch also mocked the previous Conservative negotiations, implying they were ineffective. Conservative MP Nigel Huddleston pointed out that existing post-Brexit trade deals with countries such as the United States and India could complicate attempts to renegotiate with the EU, cautioning that unwinding certain provisions may not be as straightforward as Burnham suggests. Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey welcomed Burnham’s acknowledgment of Brexit’s negative impacts but urged him to abandon Labour’s red lines and explore rejoining the EU single market and customs union
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