Andy Burnham has been warned that Britain could face a significant price if he seeks to reverse Brexit and take the country back into the European Union.
Michel Barnier, the EU’s former chief Brexit negotiator, said the UK could not return to the bloc without accepting freedom of movement between Britain and the EU—one of the central issues behind the decision to leave.
In a television interview, Mr Barnier also said the annual £5billion rebate on Britain’s membership contribution, secured by Margaret Thatcher in 1984, would not be restored.
His comments came as the Prime Minister argued that closer links with Brussels could help ease living costs for millions of people across the UK.
Mr Burnham is expected to sign a series of agreements with the EU in Brussels on November 20. The deals will focus on reducing post-Brexit barriers affecting food and farming, alongside closer cooperation on emissions trading.
He has repeatedly stressed that the public would have the final say on whether Britain should fully rejoin the EU, more than ten years after the referendum to leave. However, he has also indicated that he wants to pursue significantly closer relations with Europe following the summit.
Cabinet Minister Lisa Nandy, a close ally of the Prime Minister, appeared to distance herself from the idea of rejoining the bloc.
Ms Nandy, the MP for pro-Leave Wigan, told the BBC that a closer relationship with the EU would bring “costs as well as benefits”.
Michel Barnier, the EU’s former chief Brexit negotiator, said Britain could not reverse Brexit without accepting freedom of movement
The intervention came as the Prime Minister said stronger ties with Brussels could help lower living costs for millions of Britons.
Ms Nandy, the MP for pro-Leave Wigan, said the BBC that closer relations with the EU would bring “costs as well as benefits”
“The one thing I believe the British people are completely united on at the moment is that we left the European Union a decade ago with the promise of a close Brexit deal and the benefits that would follow, and most of those benefits have not materialised,” she said.
Her remarks came after Mr Barnier was asked whether the UK could regain access to the single market without accepting unrestricted movement of people between Britain and the EU.
He replied: “There is no cherry-picking. It will not be possible to accept one freedom while rejecting another.
“The four freedoms—goods, movement of people, services and capital—are clearly the four conditions for being part of the single market.”
Mr Barnier said Britain would not face a specific fee simply for rejoining, but added that it would be expected to make the standard contribution required of every member state to the European budget.
The Conservatives released a new analysis claiming that rejoining the EU could cost the UK £23billion over ten years, equivalent to £1,220 per family.
The party based its estimate on payments made by Switzerland, which it described as having a comparable level of access to the bloc.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: “Now that Britain has left the EU, we should continue negotiating confidently with our European friends. What I see from Burnham is not confidence, but weakness.”
Speaking to the Sunday Mirror before the Brussels meeting, Mr Burnham defended closer cooperation with Britain’s European neighbours, arguing that it could help reduce pressure on household budgets.
He told the newspaper: “It pays to have a good relationship with your neighbours, and the practical agreements we are reaching with Europe will benefit families throughout the UK.
“Reducing red tape on food entering and leaving the country will help ease supermarket price pressures while making life simpler for farmers and food producers.
“This summit will demonstrate what can be achieved by working together, but it should not mark the limit of our ambitions.
“Closer cooperation with Europe could boost growth, strengthen national security and give us additional tools to tackle illegal migration. That is a conversation worth having.”
Government sources told the Sunday Mirror that restoring British access to the EU’s migration database could help combat illegal Channel crossings and other forms of migration-related crime in the future.
