Backlash over Brexit ‘betrayal’: Lord Gove blasts Streeting and Burnham as Kemi says ‘Labour clowns couldn’t negotiate with the EU’

Fears of Brexit betrayal were growing last night after two Labor leadership candidates called for Britain to rejoin the EU.

Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting, who will take over from Keir Starmer, said Britain’s future is to be part of the bloc.

The comments sparked a fiery rebuke from Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, who warned rejoining would be a ‘disaster’ and plunge the country back into the bitter chaos of the Brexit wars.

Last night Lord Gove, one of the architects of Brexit, said any move to rejoin would be a ‘betrayal’ and Reform leader Nigel Farage vowed to make the issue the focus of the Makerfield by-election.

Comments from leading candidates to become the next Prime Minister suggest they will seek authority to rejoin the EU.

Even cabinet minister Lisa Nandy said it was clear no lessons had been learned from Labour’s worst local election defeat in history.

Last year, Mr Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, said he wanted to see Britain rejoin the EU ‘in my lifetime’.

At the weekend he repeated that there was a possibility of rejoining ‘in the long term’ but sought to downplay his position to prepare for a by-election in the Leave voting area.

Wes Streeting says he believes Britain’s future is to return to the EU

Andy Burnham, one of the candidates to take over from Keir Starmer, said that England’s future is to be part of the bloc

On Saturday Mr Streeting opened his stall saying Brexit was a ‘disastrous mistake’.

‘We need a new and special relationship with the EU, because Britain’s future is in Europe and one day again in the European Union,’ he said.

But Ms Badenoch said renegotiating Brexit would be a ‘disaster’ for the country.

The Conservative Party leader told the Daily Mail: ‘What we see before us is a Labor Party that is exhausted, timid and tired after less than two years in government. Does anyone believe these clowns can negotiate with the EU?

‘They are afraid to make tough decisions and will eventually have to give away the power and money, just as they did with the terrible Chagos agreement and the failed one-for-one deal with France.’

He added: ‘It will be a disaster for the country and they will reap the whirlwind if they drag us back into the Brexit wars, ignoring the clear message the country gave in the 2016 referendum and the 2017 and 2019 elections: Get Brexit Done.’

He also said Labor should call a general election if a new leader breaches the party’s manifesto commitments and advocates rejoining the EU.

Writing for the Mail, Lord Gove said: ‘The drive to rejoin is not only an acceleration towards economic deadlock, but also a betrayal of the democratic vote that politicians have promised will be honored and respected.

‘After the suffering of the 2017-19 parliament, where the voices of the establishment tried to subvert clear instructions from the public, this will further undermine people’s belief that those who govern us respect our instincts.’

He said Britain should instead make the most of Brexit freedoms in areas where it has a competitive advantage, such as financial services, gene editing, artificial intelligence and technology.

Kemi Badenoch says renegotiating Brexit would be a ‘disaster’ for the country

Reform promises to turn by-election into de facto Brexit referendum

Mr Streeting’s comments also sparked anger from Labor MPs, with Ms Nandy accusing him of restarting the Brexit wars. “I really don’t understand the reason for the sudden focus on Europe,” the Culture Secretary told Sky News.

‘If the answer is to rejoin the EU then we are essentially saying to people: ‘Life was good in 2015, we need to get back there’. I know Wes will be joining the midterm election campaign very soon.

‘He will hear loud and clear from people across the street from Makerfield in places like Wigan, Ashton, Winstanley that this is simply not the case. And the answer needs to be bigger.’

He said his claim was ‘a bit odd’ and that the Government was instead taking a ‘pragmatic approach’ by bringing the UK ‘closer to Europe’ after a ‘bad Brexit deal’.

The timing of Mr Streeting’s speech was misleading for Mr Burnham, who faces a challenge from Reformation in Makerfield, where two-thirds of voters support Leave.

‘The mayor of Manchester tried to distance himself from the comments over the weekend, arguing there was a case for rejoining ‘in the long term…’ I’m not advocating that in this by-election.

But Reform has vowed to turn the by-election into a de facto Brexit referendum. The party plans to plaster Mr Burnham’s views on election leaflets during the contest and brand him as ‘open borders Burnham’.

Mr Farage told the Mail: ‘It is clear that while Andy Burnham wants to say one thing to Labor voters in Makerfield, he wants to say something completely different to Labor MPs as he positions himself for power.

‘The reform will ensure voters know exactly where Burnham stands on rejoining the EU.’

Reform won all the council wards in the Makerfield constituency in the local elections, taking around half the vote, while Labor won just over a quarter.

Other Labor MPs have criticized calls to rejoin the EU, saying colleagues should “stop whining” about Brexit.

Dan Carden of Blue Labor told the Sunday Telegraph: ‘It would be far better to focus government resources on making the most of our sovereign freedoms in trade, defense and foreign policy, and start talking confidently about Britain’s place in the world and stop whining about Brexit.’

Jon Trickett said Labor ‘must respect the democratic decision’, while Lord Glasman said ‘national sovereignty is key to restoring our national pride’.