British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he will “lay out to the country” different options for the UK’s long-term relationship with the EU, arguing that Brexit “has done more harm than good.”
Speaking at the annual Labour Party Conference in Liverpool on Tuesday, Burnham said Britain could not have “the clear path we need into the rest of this century” without deciding on its future relationship with the EU, which he described as “still our largest market.”
The UK left the EU in 2020, four years after a referendum in which about 52 percent of voters chose to leave.
The prime minister said he would use the opportunity around the summit to set out the choices available to Britain.
“And there are different options, and I will see if we can find consensus around one, which will give us clarity about our position and the future of the continent that we live in,” he said.
Burnham also announced that Labour's next manifesto would contain a commitment to change the UK's electoral system.
He said he was creating a “new national commission on electoral reform” and invited all political parties to take part in its work.
“In past years, you have voted twice to support electoral reform. I hear you, I agree with you,” Burnham said.
“We will contest the next election with a manifesto commitment to change the electoral system so that everyone's vote counts and everyone's voice is heard,” he added.
‘Political price'
Burnham promised to put Britain "on a new path" and unveil policies on water, housing, energy and education.
"When we pull as one, there is nothing we can't do," he said. "Today, we draw a line on a decade of division. We stop doomscrolling on posts running Britain down. And we put the country on a new path."
He acknowledged he "may pay a political price" for his announcements but said "someone has to go through the pain barrier and rip the plaster off."
Burnham said Environment Secretary Angela Eagle would introduce a "strengthened Water Bill" including the repeal of "Margaret Thatcher's ideological ban on public ownership of water companies."
"Water is a symbol of what has gone wrong with Britain," he said, criticising sewage dumping, high prices and problems with infrastructure.
He, however, did not announce plans to nationalise any individual water companies.
Housing, energy and education
Burnham said the government could introduce legislation making it easier to reclaim homes from negligent landlords.
He also pledged to bring down energy prices and asked the energy secretary to speed up efforts to decouple green energy prices from gas prices.
On education, he promised to "rebuild a system of comprehensive education in this country with parity between academic and technical."
Burnham criticised the political direction taken since the 1980s, saying: "Homes, water, energy, transport, care, healthcare - broken up and sold off."
"The British right talk about taking back control. Never let them forget, they are the ones that gave it away in the first place," he said.
Growth and fiscal rules
Burnham said his economic strategy would involve nationalisation and devolution, arguing that greater control over essential services could help create conditions for business growth.
He confirmed that the government would stick to its fiscal rules "to get borrowing and debt down."
The premier said the party would maintain its 2024 general election manifesto commitment not to make changes in the current period, while changes could be considered if Labour remains in power beyond the 2029 election.
