Labour will push Britain even closer to the EU under Burnham and is willing to bend its 'red lines' says new Brexit reset minister

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 11:22 EDT, 10 August 2026 | Updated: 11:23 EDT, 10 August 2026 Labour will drag Brexit Britain even closer back into the shadow of the to the EU under Andy Burnham, a senior minister has confirmed.In comments that have enraged Brexiteers Hamish Falconer said he wanted the UK to have a 'deeper ... more ambitious relationship' with Brussels on his watch.The Foreign Office Minister, was promoted by Mr Burnham to lead talks with the bloc as European Relations Minister, said that while Labour had 'red lines' he was open to bending them as far as he could.It will raise questions over whether Labour is prepared to backslide over freedom of movement, after Mr Falconer told the Guardian he was interested in a deal that would give Brits visa-free travel on the continent.Under the current agreement Brits can travel visa-free only for 90 days. But any renegotiation would almost certainly see Brussels ask for a quid-pro-quo for its citizens in Britain.Mr Falconer, the son of Blair-era Labour minster Lord Charlie Falconer, referenced his past career as a diplomat in the Middle East, saying: 'We're committed to our manifesto red lines, but all of my experiences as a negotiator and the art of the possible is in part shaped by the nature of the relationship between two people negotiating.'I used to be a negotiator with the Taliban. With the EU, this is a negotiation with our friends, with whom we share our values and with whom we feel solidarity.' In comments likely to enrage Brexiteers Hamish Falconer said he wanted the UK to have a 'deeper ... more ambitious relationship' with Brussels on his watch The former Foreign Office Minister, was promoted by Mr Burnham to lead talks with the bloc, said that while Labour had 'red lines' he was open to bending them as far as he couldHe highlighted the service sector as an area where a closer arrangement could be made, adding: 'There's also a whole range of areas in relation to services where I'd really like it to be progressed. 'Services is obviously an area where the EU itself is less closely integrated and there's a lot of discussion within the EU about where to take the productivity challenge for them – that's a challenge we can recognise here in the UK as well. So, particularly on services, I'm really interested in where we can go further.' But Tory frontbencher Alex Burghart said Labour was 'clutching at straws'.'To fix the economy they need to open up the North Sea (oil and gas industry), cut public spending, cut taxes and regulation, get the national debt down and build the conditions for growth. None of this needs a deal with the EU which itself has low growth.'Burnham and his team are going to give us a bad deal which hands control of our regulations to Brussels and doesn't fix the problems at home.'While Labour remains fixated on the past, only the Conservatives, under new leadership, are focused on delivering a serious plan for Britain's future.'When running for his return to Westminster as Makerfield MP, Mr Burnham in May said he was not proposing the UK rejoin the European Union, warning against getting stuck in a 'permanent rut' of Brexit arguments. He said Brexit had been 'damaging' but 'the last thing we should do right now is re-run those arguments'.Mr Burnham has previously said he would like to see the UK back in the EU within his lifetime.At a fringe event at the Labour conference in September 2025 he said his 'long-term' goal would be to seek to return to the EU.'People prosper more when they're part of unions,' he told the audience.