Andy Burnham accuses Tories of ‘burning bridges’ with EU over Brexit

Detailed summary

The prime minister’s remarks in recent weeks have fuelled questions about the prospect of the UK returning to the EU

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Andy Burnham accused the Tories of having “burned all of our bridges” in the aftermath of Brexit and said the country had “lost more than we’ve gained over the last 10 years”.

The prime minister’s remarks in recent weeks have fuelled questions about the prospect of the UK returning to the EU or adopting its freedom of movement rules, but Mr Burnham has insisted voters would ultimately be “the boss” of any changes.

At the 2016 EU referendum, 854,572 (52.5 per cent) voters in Wales chose to leave the EU, compared with 772,347 (47.5 per cent) supporting Remain.

Mr Burnham appeared at Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno as he acknowledged the party needs to “listen” and “take stock” following a major defeat in May’s Senedd election.

Defending his efforts to secure new deals with the EU, the Prime Minister told Welsh Labour conference: “We’ve got the Conservatives who are standing out against it, saying no change. Well, I don’t believe Brexit and the deal that they got has been good enough for Britain.

“I think we’ve lost more than we’ve gained over the last 10 years, and, actually, 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, and 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 for Wales, for those here who could benefit, Welsh farmers, exporters of Welsh shellfish and Welsh lamb.”

Andy Burnham said working with the EU would mean “respecting the red lines in our manifesto and respecting the referendum result”.

He told the audience: “People working together in unions, trade unions, but also unions of nations, and that’s what makes us who we are.

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