Norway's PM warns Britain NOT to follow its example by joining the EU single market in Brexit reset because Brussels takes too much control

Published: 05:23 EDT, 9 November 2026 | Updated: 05:25 EDT, 9 November 2026 Andy Burnham has been warned not to put the UK back inside the EU's single market by a top European ally.Norway's prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre warned that his country was effectively reduced to implementing Brussels directives by its relationship with the bloc.The Scandinavian nation is a member of the European Free Trade Association alongside Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.They are outside the EU but all bar the Swiss are within the European Economic Area, giving them single market access while allowing them to sign free trade deals.Mr Burnham, who met the Norwegian PM at the Labour Party Conference in September, will head to Belgium next week to try to move the UK closer to the EU, with completely rejoining the EU not ruled out. But speaking to Politico, Mr Støre said that if Britain left the EU because it did not want to take Brussels rules it should not use his country as an example of a halfway measure.'After Brexit, British friends called me and said, tell us about the Norwegian way of doing it', he said.'And I said, if you left the EU because there was too much Brussels, don't take the Norwegian version, because here, you know, basically we are taking most of their decisions, we implement them.' Norway's prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre (right, with Mr Burnham in September) warned that his country was effectively reduced to implementing Brussels directivesMr Burnham faced a fresh backlash on Sunday night after he said his EU deal was just the start of his plans to cosy up to Europe.Mr Burnham faced a fresh backlash on Sunday night after he said his EU deal was just the start of his plans to cosy up to Europe.Amid warnings from Brussels that Britain could not 'cherry pick' a deal, the Prime Minister said his reset did not need to be the 'end of our ambition'.But Brexiteers rounded on his comments, telling the Daily Mail that Mr Burnham is 'living in the past'.It came as Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy was accused of trying to hijack Remembrance Sunday after linking the commemoration of the nation's war dead to the Brexit reset.The PM had told the Sunday Mirror that his deal, to be unveiled at a summit on November 20, would cut red tape on food imports and exports and ease pressure on prices at the supermarket. He added: 'This summit will show what we can achieve when we work together, but it doesn't need to be the end of our ambition.'Working more closely with Europe could drive growth, make our country safer and give us more tools to tackle illegal migration. That's a conversation worth having.'On Sunday night, former Tory home secretary Dame Priti Patel told the Daily Mail: 'This man is unelected and he has no mandate to start negotiating or trying to drag us back into the EU, by the back door, in a way which is not transparent. The country has moved on and Burnham seems to be living in the past.'And former Brexit Secretary David Davis added: 'Labour is naive about this. There is no question it's a good thing to be reasonably close to your nearest ally and nearest neighbour. But not at any price, and certainly not at the price the Europeans will demand.'Conservative peer Lord Redwood said: 'The Prime Minister should come clean: going into the EU means dearer energy, higher taxes and slower growth.'