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Story summary
Andy Burnham, the Labour Party's new leader, is set to urge MPs in a Commons address on Monday to support closer ties with the European Union. He will argue that Brexit has done "more harm than good" and that maintaining the current relationship is not acceptable for Britain. Burnham first pledged to explore this during his party's conference last month in Liverpool, suggesting options could include rejoining the bloc.
The UK-EU summit, originally scheduled for summer but postponed after Sir Keir Starmer's resignation, has been rescheduled for later this year. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hopes to secure tweaks to current arrangements with Brussels and initiate discussions on long-term relations between the UK and its nearest neighbors. A No 10 source emphasized that not working towards a better deal would be a "major dereliction of duty."
Burnham's call for closer EU ties aims to control illegal immigration and boost economic growth, addressing concerns raised by critics who argue Brexit did not meet initial promises. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey urged Burnham to reconsider Labour’s red lines against rejoining the European customs union or single market, suggesting a more flexible approach might be necessary.
Written for “Closer EU ties debate” on 2026-10-12,
grounded in this article and the 4 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
Leaning: leans left for article 74020 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-10-12
In a Commons address on Monday, the Prime Minister is expected to reiterate his argument from the Labour Party conference that Brexit has done “more harm than good”.
asserted
Brexit → expect → harm
He will call on all parties to support the Government’s approach in seeking a closer relationship with the EU, arguing such a move could help control immigration and boost growth.
uncertain
move → call → growth
A No 10 source said: “Andy understands why some politicians don’t want to face up to the reality that Brexit has not delivered what they once promised.
asserted
they → say → what
“Sticking with the status quo and not working relentlessly to secure a good deal that boosts growth would be a major dereliction of duty.”
asserted
that → stick → duty
At the Labour conference in Liverpool last month, Mr Burnham said he would set out the “options” for Britain’s long-term relationship with Europe around the time of a UK-EU summit planned for the end of the year.
asserted
he → say → year
He has suggested that those options could include rejoining the bloc.
uncertain
options → suggest → bloc
Ahead of the statement, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said Mr Burnham should drop Labour’s “red lines” ruling out rejoining the European customs union or single market.
asserted
Burnham → say → union
He said: “We are willing to engage with anyone who shares our vision of fixing the broken relationship with Europe so we can strengthen Britain’s economy and defences.
asserted
we → say → economy
“Every day and month we delay starting serious talks with the EU, we do more damage to our economy.
asserted
we → delay → economy
“Let’s restore our trading links, tear down new barriers like Made in Europe and give our economy the growth and jobs boost businesses and people are crying out for.”
asserted
businesses → let → boost
But Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called Mr Burnham “a liar”, telling a press conference in Hythe: “There was no Russian interference, and the Russia hoax has run all the way through this.”
asserted
hoax → call → this
The Prime Minister’s Commons statement comes a day after he told a podcast interview it was “clear” that Russia had interfered in the 2016 Brexit referendum.
asserted
Russia → come → referendum
He told The Rest Is Politics podcast that the UK and its allies had been “too much on the back foot” when confronting Russian interference and “haven’t informed people sufficiently about the extent to which people are seeking to disrupt the political process from overseas”.
asserted
people → tell → process
Read More
He said: “I’m not going to get into the specifics of Russia’s actions against the UK, but what is clear is that Russia is attempting to interfere in democratic processes, not just in the UK but across Europe.”
asserted
Russia → read → Europe
Mr Doughty added that Russia was spending £1.5 billion on disinformation this year and called for a “whole of society effort” to respond to the threat Moscow poses to British democracy.
asserted
Moscow → add → democracy
Asked whether interference could have changed the result of the 2016 referendum, he said: “The result is the result, and I think the Prime Minister has been very clear that he’s talking about attempts to interfere.
uncertain
he → ask → attempts
“The security minister has spoken about this before.
asserted
minister → speak → this
I’m confident that both the British people and the British state are able to respond to and defend against these types of threats, but we need to be very honest that those threats exist.”
asserted
threats → ’m → threats
Later, Mr Doughty told LBC he did not think Russia’s attempts to interfere in the referendum had been successful.
asserted
attempts → tell → referendum
Downing Street said Mr Burnham accepts the result of the Brexit referendum despite the attempted Russian interference.
asserted
Burnham → say → interference
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “Given everything we know about Russia, it is inconceivable they did not seek to use the referendum to their benefit.
“
asserted
they → say → benefit
But as the minister (Stephen Doughty) said this morning, we do not believe they have succeeded.”
asserted
they → say → ?
The spokesman said the Prime Minister “absolutely accepts the referendum result”.
asserted
Minister → say → result
After repeated questioning the spokesman added: “Yes, we do believe the referendum result to be legitimate.”
asserted
result → repeat → questioning
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