Andy Burnham’s reset with the EU is “doomed to fail”, the Tories have warned.
Alex Burghart, Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, accused the Prime Minister of having “panicked” meetings to undo Sir Keir Starmer’s EU promises.
The Prime Minister pushed for deeper ties between the UK and the European Union during a meeting with his Irish counterpart, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, on Friday.
Meanwhile, on Friday, Chancellor John Healey pressed for the UK not to be shut out of the EU’s “made in Europe” plan during a meeting with EU finance ministers in Dublin.
Mr Burghart said: “It is clear that Labour’s so-called ‘EU reset’ is not going as planned, with Andy Burnham having to hold panicked meetings with European leaders to row back on the red tape and regulations that Keir Starmer has happily ceded to the European Union.
“This ‘reset’ is doomed to fail. It will not grow the economy and will harm industry and businesses across our country. But it doesn’t have to be this way.”
Mr Martin became the first international leader to visit No 10 North on Friday, where he told the Prime Minister he looked forward to the UK having a “stronger and closer” relationship with the EU.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said the pair also looked ahead to the UK’s hosting of the next UK-Ireland Summit in the first half of 2027 and “agreed its importance in working together across priorities, including security and trade”.
The summit is aimed at settling deals on food and drink, linking carbon trading schemes and closer defence co-operation, as well as on a youth mobility scheme, where Brussels is seeking lower tuition fees for EU students at UK universities.
Meanwhile, Mr Healey told his counterparts not to threaten the UK-EU reset with their “Made in Europe” plans, which are designed to protect the continent’s manufacturing from global competition, especially from China.
Mr Burnham told French president Emmanuel Macron earlier this month that the “buy European” programme “could pose significant challenges” for UK industry.
The Prime Minister has said he wants closer ties with the bloc, building on his predecessor Sir Keir’s work to reset the relationship.
But he is sticking with the 2024 Labour manifesto’s “red lines” of not returning to the customs union or the single market or allowing free movement.
Mr Healey also said: “To me, closer ties with the EU means British businesses – wherever they are based across the UK – get better access to both the supply chains and the customers they need to grow.”