Andy Burnham has said he wants to see Britain rejoin the European Union in his lifetime, after he reopened the Brexit debate earlier this year.
While the prime minister insisted he will 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”. The prime minister also ruled out rejoining the EU within this Parliament.
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 its own future.
He has promised to stick to Sir Keir Starmer’s red lines for the duration of this parliament - which include no return to freedom and no return to the single market or customs union – but this weekend he signalled he could put a return to freedom of movement in Labour’s next election manifesto.
But Mr Burnham insisted a general election would not be called “any time soon” amid speculation he could go to the country early to secure a mandate of his own and put proposals to rejoin to voters following a bounce in Labour’s poll ratings.
Asked about Brexit on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Mr Burnham said: “I don’t think things have worked out as people said they would at the time, particularly when it comes to to immigration.
“I think we’ve got weaker control now. The reason the small boats crisis has arisen is because we can’t return people, and people know we can’t do that in the same way that we used to be able to do.”
But he added: “I’m not proposing any changes in this Parliament. I’m not going to move away from the red lines that were in the Labour manifesto.
“I am respecting what I said to the voters in Makerfield, but I’m not going to say this morning, sitting here, that the deal we’ve got at the moment is good enough for Britain. I don’t think it is good enough for Britain.
“I think we can make it better and I’m going to lead a discussion about how do we make it better in a way that people can support.”
Asked whether he would like to see the UK rejoin the EU, he said: “In my lifetime I would like to see that happen but I am not going to move ahead of the public, I am not going to dictate.
“We have a decade of experience now looking back at Brexit. I don’t think it has played out as people said it would at the time. We got a harder Brexit. It has weakened our economy.
“I am not proposing rejoining in this Parliament. I said we wouldn’t re-run the referendum. That’s not what I’m doing. The British public will be the bosses here.
“I don’t think things have worked out as they said they would at the time, particularly when it comes to immigration.”
While this is not the first time he has said he wants to see Britain rejoin the EU, it is the first time he has done so in his capacity as prime minister.
The Independent has led the campaign for Britain to rebuild its relationship with Brussels on the basis of clear evidence that it has damaged the economy and failed to deliver promised benefits on a wide range of issues including immigration.
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