‘Dereliction of duty’ not to seek closer ties with EU, Andy Burnham to tells MPs

Andy Burnham will urge MPs to embrace closer ties to the EU as parliament returns on Monday, telling the Commons it would be a “dereliction of duty” not to seek a new deal with Brussels.

The prime minister is expected to call on all parties to support the government’s approach to the EU, as he reiterates his Labour Party conference speech in which he said Brexit has done “more harm than good”.

Mr Burnham will argue closer ties with Brussels could help control immigration and boost growth in the address on Monday.

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.

“But it is time for a different conversation about what our long-term relationship should be.

“Sticking with the status quo and not working relentlessly to secure a good deal that boosts growth would be a major dereliction of duty.”

The prime minister’s address comes as MPs are also set to debate a petition calling for Britain to apply to rejoin the EU later in the afternoon.

The prime minister announced at Labour’s annual conference last month that he would look at options that would take Britain closer to the bloc and suggested that rejoining the EU could be in Labour’s next election manifesto.

The prime minister, who has blamed Brexit for a decade of drift and division, has declared it was “not good enough” simply to leave the issue “hanging” and vowed to look at the “pros and cons” of all options regarding the UK’s future relationship with Brussels.

His announcement was welcomed by a number of EU leaders, including France’s president Emmanuel Macron and Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez.

New polling has also found that nearly three-quarters of Labour voters want Mr Burnham to include talks to rejoin the European Union in the party’s next manifesto.

The polling, carried out by European Movement UK in partnership with Obsurvant, found that a majority of voters for all but one of the major parties were in favour of the inclusion of a commitment to seek membership of the EU in their next election manifesto. Reform UK was the only party whose voters were against it.

However, it is unlikely that the UK would be allowed to rejoin the bloc on the same terms it had before.

Mr Macron has warned there would be no ​halfway house ⁠on membership requirements and former EU Brexit officials have previously warned that the UK would not enjoy “exceptional” terms if it decided to rejoin the EU.

The UK may have to join the Euro if it wanted to return, join the Schengen passport-free zone, and it would be unlikely to get the rebate it negotiated previously.

The UK rebate was a financial mechanism negotiated by Margaret Thatcher in 1984, reducing Britain’s EU budget contribution by around 66 per cent.