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Burnham Says UK Has “Lost More Than We Gained” Since Brexit Ahead of EU Summit

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham told a Welsh Labour conference that Britain has "lost more than we gained" since leaving the EU. He heads to a Brussels summit on Nov. 20 seeking deals on food, carbon trading and youth mobility.

By Alistair Sterling

November 15, 20263 min read

Burnham Says UK Has "Lost More Than We Gained" Since Brexit Ahead of EU Summit — Burnham Says UK Has “Lost More Than We Gained” Since Brexit Ahead of EU Summit

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the UK has "lost more than we gained" since leaving the European Union, days before a UK-EU summit in Brussels on Nov. 20 where he hopes to sign new trade and travel deals.

Speaking at the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno, Burnham blamed the Conservatives for delivering a harder Brexit than voters expected. He said he would seek the best possible deal for Wales, including benefits for Welsh farmers and exporters of Welsh shellfish and lamb.

At a European leaders' summit in Dublin earlier in the week, he put it this way: "We ended up with a far harder Brexit, I think, than people thought they were getting when they went to the polls."

What is on the table in Brussels

Burnham is due to meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council head António Costa. The two sides hope to sign agreements on food and farming, emissions trading and a youth mobility scheme.

Burnham says the food and drink deal, which would ease post-Brexit red tape, could add 0.4% to British GDP, about £17 billion. He framed the talks around living costs and said a farming deal would help bring food prices down. He gave no price figures.

Tuition fees for European students remain a sticking point. The EU has said the food and emissions agreements may not take effect without a fees deal in which European students pay domestic rates. Burnham called it a package but would not say whether he accepts the link.

"The deal is not done, and there'll be some long nights ahead in the next seven days," he said in Dublin.

Rejoining the EU

Burnham has recently said he is open to rejoining the single market, the customs union or the EU itself. On Saturday he said voters would ultimately be "the boss" and that he would respect Labour's manifesto red lines. Those rule out the customs union, the single market, free movement and reversing the referendum result.

Former Prime Minister David Cameron has argued that Britain's problems have nothing to do with Brexit and that a rejoin debate would be long and painful. Burnham called that wrong, said the evidence says otherwise, and suggested Cameron's intervention was more about Conservative unity than British interests.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she would like to see Britain back in Europe. She warned that talks would not be easy given the "trauma" of the Brexit years.

Michel Barnier, the EU's former Brexit negotiator, said the UK could not rejoin the single market piece by piece. Senior figures in Brussels want Britain to start paying for access to European programs.

The government has signaled it is willing. It was prepared to spend up to £450 million a year on discounted tuition fees for EU students in return for access to the Made in Europe industrial program. Cabinet minister Hamish Falconer, who leads EU talks, said Britain would discuss contributing to infrastructure in poorer parts of the EU in exchange for access to the European electricity market.

Burnham is expected to make the EU reset the centerpiece of his speech at the lord mayor's banquet, ahead of the Nov. 20 summit.