Andy Burnham says UK has ‘lost more than we gained’ through Brexit

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PM accuses Tories of burning ‘all our bridges’ and says deal he is pursuing with EU will ‘get food prices down’Andy Burnham has said the UK has “lost more than we gained” since…

PM accuses Tories of burning ‘all our bridges’ and says deal he is pursuing with EU will ‘get food prices down’

Andy Burnham has said the UK has “lost more than we gained” since leaving the EU, the prime minister’s latest in a string of comments criticising Brexit.

Outlining his desire to form closer ties with Brussels, Burnham accused the Conservative party of having “burned all our bridges” with the bloc after Brexit and said a new deal he hopes to secure with the EU next week will “get food prices down” and put more money in the pockets of British exporters.

The prime minister is due to meet European leaders at a summit next week and secure agreements that he says could raise GDP by 0.4% – about £17bn – including on food and farming, emissions trading and a youth mobility scheme. He will also “explore options” for a different long-term relationship with Brussels.

Speaking at the Welsh Labour conference on Saturday, Burnham said: “We need to be willing to take difficult decisions to get the cost of living down.

“It’s why, in a few days’ time, I will head to the next UK-EU summit and I will be working hard as we move towards it to get to a new deal on food and farming between the UK and the EU. Why am I doing that? Because I want to help Welsh businesses.

The prime minister added: “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.”

Burnham has recently said he is open to rejoining the single market, customs union or to “go all the way” by rejoining the EU, but on Saturday he said voters would ultimately be “the boss” of any…

He…

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