Prime Minister Andy Burnham told MPs that Britain should begin a serious discussion about its long-term relationship with the European Union after the next UK-EU summit on 20 November. He said the current arrangement was not good enough and argued that closer cooperation should be considered in the interests of economic growth, immigration control, security and shared values. Burnham said the public would decide any future change, while declining to rule out options including closer access to the EU single market after the next general election.
Burnham said the November summit could address food and drink trade, emissions trading, energy cooperation, youth mobility and immigration. He said agreements in those areas could add more than £10bn a year to the UK economy by 2040, while the government’s existing manifesto commitments and red lines would remain in place. Conservative MPs pressed him on whether freedom of movement or membership of the euro could feature in future negotiations. Burnham replied that there was no proposal for a referendum or deal and said it was premature to decide the terms of a negotiation that had not begun.
The Commons statement also covered alleged foreign interference and the suspected plot at RAF Fairford. Burnham said Russian actors had sought to interfere in the 2016 referendum, while stressing that this did not mean he was questioning the legitimacy of the result. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called the claim outrageous, and Conservative criticism said the government was reopening the Brexit debate. Burnham separately said the Fairford incident was highly likely to have been coordinated in Iran and almost certainly directed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Seven men have been arrested and released on bail without charge; police found gasoline in three vans but no explosives. Iran denied involvement, Britain summoned its ambassador and announced sanctions against two Iranians. The United States has withdrawn its bombers from Fairford, and the home secretary is due to provide further information to MPs.