Rayner says ‘nothing off the table’ for Burnham to undo harms of Brexit

Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today. Join today Already a member? Log in Angela Rayner has confirmed that nothing is off the table for Andy Burnham as he looks to undo the harms of Brexit and secure a better deal with the EU. The prime minister on Saturday admitted he is open to reintroducing freedom of movement in an intervention that has boosted hopes that the UK could look to rejoin the bloc after the next general election. He said he wants to consider various options for a new relationship with Brussels, which could include a return to full EU membership or joining the single market – which would require free movement, and Ms Rayner suggested he is looking at options to include in Labour’s next manifesto. The housing secretary said: “The prime minister is clear that you can’t take anything off the table when you’re having a conversation. But the prime minister is not saying we’re going back to where we were in 2016. He’s saying we’ve got to be pragmatic to get the best deal for Britain and he wants to have the conversation.” It came as new data shared with The Independent ahead of Wednesday’s Budget reveals that chancellor John Healey would have far more money to deal with Britain’s problems if Brexit had not happened. Research carried out by the pro-EU group European Movement UK suggests that the UK has missed out on between £180bn and £240bn of growth since leaving the EU in 2020, while campaign group Best for Britain estimates that there is a shortfall on annual tax receipts of about £40bn. open image in gallery Prime Minister Andy Burnham and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will meet again at a major UK-EU summit in November ( PA ) The campaign group estimated that rejoining the EU would boost UK growth by “at least £92bn.” Ms Rayner was challenged by the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on her Sunday morning TV show over the prime minister telling voters in Makerfield before the summer when he fought the by-election there to return to parliament that “now is not the time” to reopen the Brexit debate. Ms Rayner insisted there needs to be “an honest discussion” about Brexit while not turning the clock back 10 years to the referendum. The approach is very different to the one taken by Sir Keir Starmer who refused to reconsider his “red lines” on not rejoining the EU, single market or customs union and ruled out freedom of movement. It came after the prime minister told The Sunday Times that he is considering reintroducing freedom of movement – the biggest issue which saw voters back the Leave vote in 2016. Mr Burnham said he wanted to have a “very factual, quite evidence-based debate about this”. The prime minister will meet EU chiefs including European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels on November 20 as he seeks to strike a better deal with the bloc. But he also wants a discussion about the long-term future of the UK-EU relationship, 10 years after the historic vote. open image in gallery Angela Rayner has said Andy Burnham will not take anything off the table when discussing Brexit ( BBC ) Mr Burnham has committed to the red lines set out in Labour’s 2024 manifesto, meaning any change in relationship would have to wait until after an election. Ms Rayner told Ms Kuenssberg: “I want to see the best deal for the people of my constituency and for Britain. “We haven’t got the best deal at the moment because we’ve seen exports reduced by 20 per cent, we’ve seen the red tape and the friction that has meant that a lot of our businesses are not able to trade in the way that they would like with our biggest trading partners. “So, I would like us to have an honest conversation about what the trade-offs could be and then put that to the people at a general election.” The openness to revisit Brexit has been welcomed by campaigners and senior figures in Labour. Stella Creasy, chair of the Labour Movement for Europe, said: “The prime minister is right – the UK is long overdue for a grown-up conversation about what EU freedom of movement actually means to our supply chains and for jobs for British citizens. If we want to negotiate our future with Europe we need to do so on facts not fiction.” Pro-EU groups are pushing for Labour to include a pledge to rejoin the bloc in its next manifesto. Europe: The Way Back We’re campaigning to rebuild Britain’s future in Europe JOIN US HERE The European Movement UK recently published a plan with The Independent outlining how the UK could return as a member within 10 years. The pressure group and Best for Britain have shared data on how Brexit is restricting Mr Healey’s economic plans as he tries to deliver a difficult Budget on Wednesday, with debt rising and pressure to find money to boost the defence budget as well as the prime minister’s other priorities, such as a free social care system. It notes that Goldman Sachs and the National Bureau for Economic Research (NBER) has suggested the UK has missed out on 6 to 8 per cent of economic growth as a result of Brexit. With the budget watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), suggesting that the 2026/27 size of the UK economy is £3.043 trillion, it would mean the UK has lost out on between £180bn and £240bn of economic growth – equating to between £30bn and £40bn a year since the UK left the EU. A European Movement UK spokesman noted: “That's about £1,000 per household per year – or £5,000 poorer per household since Brexit, and counting.” Dr Mike Galsworthy, Chair, European Movement UK, said: “The prime minister is right to ask for an honest debate, and honesty starts with the numbers. Brexit didn’t end migration, it swapped a fluid two-way exchange for a one-way visa ratchet leading to more permanent settling. Free movement is also the fairer system, where British people get the same rights in return, from school-leavers to pensioners. The new conversation is about a better kind of migration, one that fills dynamic gaps in our labour market whilst opening the full range of opportunity to our own citizens." open image in gallery Farage claims Burnham is betraying his constituents in Leave voting Makerfield ( Getty ) Meanwhile, Tom Brufatto, policy and research director at Best for Britain, which campaigns for the UK to restore its place at the heart of Europe, told The Independent : “Brexit has actively lost the country £40bn in tax revenue that could have been spent on the schools, hospitals and defence systems we all rely on – and hit taxpayers squarely in the wallet with tax rises we could have avoided during a cost of living crisis.” He added: “Taken together with the GDP growth of at least £92bn on offer from restoring our EU membership, and the urgent need to shore up our nation’s military, it's crystal clear: the next Budget would be a far less painful process if we even signalled our intent to rejoin.” However, the Tories remain dismissive of Mr Burnham’s attempts to unpick the harms of Brexit. Commenting on the revelations over freedom of movement, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: “This is yet another example of Burnham’s foot-in-mouth syndrome. He hasn’t thought this through or the implications. “Most people who voted for Brexit did so because they didn’t want free movement. Too many politicians have failed to understand the significance and impact of immigration on communities.” Reform UK also hit out at Mr Burnham, who said during the Makerfield by-election campaign which returned him to Westminster, that he would not re-run the Brexit arguments. Nigel Farage said the prime minister’s comments were “a total betrayal of Brexit Britain and Burnham’s Makerfield pitch”. But Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “Freedom of movement, as well as freedom of capital and trade and ripping up red tape that has absolutely strangled British businesses, would be a really good thing for growth.” As prime minister Andy Burnham looks at the way ahead for Britain's relationship with Europe, The Independent has been leading the charge, campaigning to secure the absolute best deal for Britain. Become an Independent member for just £1 for six months and join a like-minded community of thousands signed up to our Europe: The Way Back campaign. open image in gallery ( The Independent ) Benefits Free weekly newsletter: Every Wednesday, political editor David Maddox and political correspondent Millie Cooke will be in your inbox with exclusive reporting, analysis and insight on the biggest developments shaping relations between Britain and Europe. 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