Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said it would be a 'major dereliction of duty' not to try and negotiate a better deal with the European Union ahead of a summit with the bloc next month.
PM says current deal 'not good enough'
Speaking in the Commons on October 12, the PM told MPs that the current deal is 'not good enough' for Britain, citing losses to the agriculture and fishing industries due to current EU arrangements, reports PA.
He told the Rest is Politics podcast that he believed Brexit had done 'more harm than good' to UK growth and that he was going to argue for 'closer integration' with the EU.
"One of the big lies of the campaign back in 2016 was that we would 'take back control' of all of that, and it would all be much easier. The reality is you need collaboration to control immigration, and that's got weaker."
Summit agenda and economic boost
At the summit, set to take place in Brussels on November 20, the two sides will seek to sign a new post-Brexit food and drink deal, a youth mobility scheme and an agreement on emissions trading to avoid European carbon taxes on British business, reports PA.
In his address, Mr Burnham said the British public will be the "boss" at every stage of renegotiating the relationship.
"If we are serious about promoting growth, controlling immigration, upholding our values and security, it is a conversation we must have," he said.
"Sticking with the status quo is not good enough for Britain. Worse, it would be a major dereliction of duty to turn away.
"We need to take a calm, clear-eyed, rational look at the world as it is today to consider what is best for our country.
"Our immediate priority is securing a successful outcome at the summit, and I believe we should then set up a serious dialogue about the different options for our relationship in the long term.
"At every stage, the British public will be the boss, and I am clear that public opinion currently supports a pragmatic approach like the one I am suggesting."
Mr Burnham said the upcoming summit "presents an opportunity to make progress on two crucial issues: boosting UK growth and controlling illegal immigration".
In a statement on Monday, president of the European Council Antonio Costa said: "The European Union and the United Kingdom are like-minded partners, united by common values and shared interests.
"Our security and prosperity are closely intertwined, making a strong partnership between us essential.
"By deepening our co-operation, we can strengthen our ability to address the challenges of our time, strengthen our resilience and promote stability in Europe and beyond."
Conservative criticism
He also said that deals on the table at the summit could provide a £10 billion-a-year boost to the British economy, but acknowledged there could be a row with Brussels over the protectionist "Made in Europe" scheme.
"The summit will also be an opportunity to raise our concerns about Made in Europe and it is clear to me that there is an opportunity to make progress in all of these areas.
"Together, these deals will add the equivalent of over £10 billion per year to the UK economy by 2040, with the potential to add significantly more."
Leader of the Conservative Party Kemi Badenoch then accused the PM of revealing his hand before the UK-EU summit, adding: "This is not how you conduct negotiations."
"What has the Prime Minister chosen to focus on today? Brexit. His exact words earlier this year were, 'the last thing we should do right now is re-run those arguments'.
"And yet here he is unpicking the deal this country signed with the EU a decade after the referendum. He is not going to get a better deal. The EU are tough negotiators, and he has already revealed his entire negotiating hand.
"He has just blurted out everything he wants in this statement and I will tell him now, as a former trade secretary, this is not how you conduct negotiations."
Responding, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: "She says that, oh, I've revealed what I want to do and this isn't any way to negotiate it. Because the Tories were so good, weren't they, at negotiating deals with our partners?"
