Burnham's Brexit Gamble – Is The PM Playing With Fire Ahead Of Crunch EU Summit?

The prime minister has opened up the possibility of overturning the 2016 referendum.

Andy Burnham could not have been clearer during his campaign to become the MP for Makerfield in the summer.

“Brexit has been damaging, but the last thing we need right now is to re-run those arguments,” he said.

“I respect the [Brexit] vote and am not suggesting rejoining the EU.”

And yet here we are, less than six months later, with the prospect of the UK going back into the European Union a live one at Westminster.

It should be noted, of course, that Burnham’s comments back in May were driven by the politics of the situation he found himself in.

He was running in a seat which voted comprehensively for Brexit in the 2016 referendum and had just returned a host of Reform UK councillors in the local elections.

As soon as he was safely in No.10, however, the new prime minister reverted to the Andy Burnham who said in 2025 that he would like to see the UK rejoin the EU in his lifetime.

Later this month, he will attend a special UK-EU summit where he hopes to “reset” the Brexit deal agreed by Boris Johnson’s government, which he says has done “more harm than good” to the country.

Border checks on food and agricultural products will be removed after the UK agreed to align itself with Brussels rules.

Agreement on a youth mobility scheme and emissions trading will also be reached as part of the deal, which Burnham says could grow the UK economy by 0.4%.

“I think people in Britain would expect me to take that with both hands, given where........

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