ANDY BURNHAM: 'EU deal can get Britain back on positive path and cut cost of living - I will take it'

Detailed summary

EXCLUSIVE: Writing for The Mirror, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said that on Friday the UK has a chance of reaching a deal that helps ease the cost-of-living crisis as he warns the Tory Brexit deal has failed

In Makerfield, my constituency, two-thirds of people voted to leave the EU.

I understood why back then - and still do now. Westminster and Brussels combined weren’t delivering for them. Industrial decline had stripped away good jobs. Cuts were hitting harder than elsewhere. People felt ignored by the powers-that-be.

The referendum gave voters a chance to send a message and demand change. Ten years on, it is clear that the change promised by the promoters of Brexit has not materialised. Far from taking back control, we are in a weaker position on immigration. The small boats crisis has reached our shores. Household bills and business costs have been soaring.

The truth is Britain ended up with a much harder Brexit than the one promised at the referendum. Rather than back Theresa May’s deal, Boris Johnson burnt our bridges. His Tory Brexit deal has done more harm than good.

I am clear: the status quo is not good enough for Britain. It is my job to look honestly at the evidence and act in Britain’s national interest. I will not shirk that responsibility.

The truth is we can’t get Britain back to where we all want it to be without sorting out our relationship with our closest neighbours. The red lines set out in Labour’s manifesto will remain.

This means no return to the Customs Union, Single Market or freedom of movement in this Parliament. However, the UK-EU Summit this week is not about these issues. It is about getting closer to Europe again and working constructively to improve a bad Brexit deal.

Any deal I seek to agree in Brussels must first pass what I call the Makerfield test: will it make life better for people in the parts of Britain that have felt forgotten?

On Friday, there is a chance of reaching a deal that helps ease the cost-of-living crisis. By making it easier to move food between Britain and the EU, we can cut costs for businesses and help bring down the price of food.

Opening of the article, excerpted from Daily Mirror. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.