Burnham’s Brexit U-turn as Reform turns Makerfield into an EU ballot | UK | News
The Express understands Andy Burnham has backtracked on his stance on rejoining the European Union following a backlash that could derail the by-election campaign before it even begins, The Telegraph reports.
This is not the first time Mr Burnham has expressed sympathy for the idea of EU membership; his camp had given every impression over the weekend that this remained his view. But on Sunday, a spokesman for the Mayor of Greater Manchester was said to have distanced himself from the issue by insisting he would object to the vote, expected to be held in Makerfield on June 18, on local issues rather than a “national manifesto”.
“Andy is focused on working hard for every vote in Makerfield so he can represent them in Parliament,” the spokesman said. “Andy is not standing on a national manifesto this election; he is standing to make a difference for the people of Makerfield and bring the change he has created in Manchester to the national stage.”
The practical effect of Sunday’s alleged repositioning is that Brexit will not feature as a campaign issue in a seat where Leave sentiment is strong in 2016, despite Mr Burnham saying last year: “I hope to see this country rejoin the European Union in my lifetime.”
Why did Burnham walk away from calls to rejoin the EU?
According to The Telegraph, the drop comes a day after leadership candidate Wes Streeting put the EU at the heart of his campaign, telling supporters on Saturday: “The greatest economic opportunity we have is on our doorstep. We need a new special relationship with the EU, because Britain’s future is in Europe and one day it will return to the European Union.”
Some in Westminster read the timing of Mr Streeting’s statements as deliberate; It was a way of pushing Mr Burnham back in a Leave-voting constituency by drawing attention to his own record in Europe.
Reform Britain wasted no time and heeded comments made on Saturday, declaring that the by-election would effectively act as a referendum on Brexit. The party is expected to make “Brexit betrayal” a central line of attack at Makerfield and has said it will include Mr Burnham’s previous pro-EU statements in its campaign leaflets.
What did Nigel Farage say about Andy Burnham and the EU?
Farage went further, telling The Telegraph: “‘Open borders Burnham’ wants to give 500 million people the right to move here with no thought to how this will affect schools, doctors and dentists. It’s pretty clear that this by-election is now a choice between Reform, which wants to stay outside the EU, control immigration and deport all illegals, and Labor, which wants to rejoin the EU and open borders.”
What did Labor ministers say about Streeting’s EU comments?
The controversy drew swift rebuke from Labor’s own ranks. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy criticized Mr Streeting on Sunday morning for “restarting the Brexit wars”. Speaking to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, he said: “I actually think it’s a bit odd. I listened very carefully to what Wes said yesterday and I know he has a strong view on this and I know he’s always had this view that we shouldn’t leave the European Union… I don’t really understand the sudden focus on Europe.”
On Sky News, Ms Nandy said the Government was working on “a much more pragmatic approach to getting us closer to Europe and repairing some of the damage that the bad Brexit deal has done to the living standards of people in parts of the country like mine, rather than restarting the Brexit wars”.
What did Kemi Badenoch say about Labor and the EU?
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said calls to rejoin showed Labor “has no plan for this country”. He said: “The country wants us to make the most of Brexit, to make the best of leaving the EU. The idea of starting over, going backwards, doing all these negotiations, that’s a sign that Labor has no plan for the country. So they want to go back and resume the wars that were decided long ago.”
