Andy Burnham says EU summit "opportunity to make progress" on UK growth and immigration enforcement

Labour premier Andy Burnham told MPs that a rescheduled UK-European Union summit in Brussels on November 20 could help advance two priorities: Britain's economic performance and illegal-immigration enforcement. The meeting, announced by Burnham and European Council head António Costa, was delayed from this summer after Labour MPs replaced Keir Starmer as prime minister in July. Burnham said the existing post-2016 Brexit arrangement had failed and urged discussion of the UK's future relationship with the bloc, while saying he did not want another vote on membership. Talks cover food and drink trade, youth mobility, and emissions trading; EU plans to protect industry remain unresolved. Burnham is bound by Starmer's 2024 manifesto, ruling out a customs union, single-market return, or free movement. Opposition parties said his suggestion that EU membership could be a future option would go against the 2016 vote.