Burnham and Healey clash yet again on Brexit

Andy Burnham and his chancellor John Healey appear to be at odds – once again – over the direction of Britain’s relationship with the EU.

The prime minister has been championing much closer ties with the bloc, saying earlier this week Britain’s departure from the European Union had “weakened our economy” and impacting high levels of immigration.

He has also said it is “possible” Labour’s next election manifesto could include an in-out referendum on rejoining the EU and admitted he wants to see Britain rejoin the European Union in his lifetime.

But the chancellor did not appear to share the same view, when asked if he thinks the country would rejoin the bloc in his lifetime.

“I’m older than Andy Burnham. I don’t expect to see that,” said Mr Healey, who is 10 years older than the prime minister.

“My job is to try and make the most of Britain's position now,” he told Channel 4 News.

“And that's why both Andy Burnham and I are already, at the moment, looking to get the best possible deal when we have the European summit on the 20th of November.”

The prime minister is set to meet EU chiefs for a key summit in Brussels next month, where he wants to lock in deals on food and drink, emissions trading and a youth mobility scheme allowing young people to live, study and work in the bloc with fewer restrictions.

While the prime minister has said he would not “move ahead of the public” or “dictate” his own beliefs, he argued that Brexit has not “played out as people said it would at the time”.

It comes just weeks after Mr Burnham said the UK could go “all the way” and rejoin the bloc, but insisted the British public will “be the boss” of the nation’s future.

He has also argued that leaving the EU has hit Britain’s economic growth, but the chancellor denied earlier this week that Britain’s growth would be stronger if the UK was in the EU or single market, saying: “We had a referendum. We’re out of the European Union.”

Asked whether growth would be stronger if Britain was in the EU or single market, Mr Healey told LBC this week: “Well, I don’t actually accept that. I mean, it’s certain Brexit has certainly hit our level of growth.

“It’s certainly hit our level of trade. But we had a referendum. We’re out of the European Union. The challenge for me now is how do we make the best of an economy which this year has proved remarkably resilient. It’s confounded the forecasters.”

Pressed on whether EU single market access could boost growth by as much as 5 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), he said: “Well, that’s part of a bigger conversation that the prime minister wants the country to have because he recognises – and everybody, many other people do – that our Brexit deal was not a good one.

“It’s not been good for Britain over the last decade. But my job now, is to make sure, when you’re talking about growth, is to try and reinforce that resilience in the British economy.”

Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Mr Burnham was forced to deny his position had changed since he promised not to “re-run” old Brexit arguments while fighting the by-election that catapulted him into No 10 in the Leave-voting seat of Makerfield earlier this year.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch asked him why the prime minister why he had reopened the debate on the UK-EU relationship in the days leading up to the Budget and accused him of failing to “respect” the result of the 2016 referendum.