British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has ruled out the possibility of Britain rejoining the European Union within the current parliamentary term. However, he said he would like to see the country back in the EU in his lifetime.
“I am not proposing any changes within this parliamentary term. I will not deviate from the red lines set out in the Labour Party's election manifesto“, Burnham said.
The Prime Minister stressed that he would not pre-empt public opinion on the Brexit issue. He said the decision on the future of the country should be supported by British citizens, not imposed by the government.
London wants a better deal with Brussels
Burnham said the current agreement between the UK and the EU was not good enough for the country. “I think we can improve it and I will lead the discussion on how to make it better in a way that people can support”, the British Prime Minister said.
He described the consequences of Brexit as different from the promises made during the referendum campaign. According to him, leaving the EU has led to weaker controls on immigration, although this issue was one of the main arguments in support of Brexit.
“The reason for the small boat crisis is that we can't bring people back, and they know we can't do it the same way we used to,“ said Burnham.
No snap election in the near future
The prime minister also rejected speculation that he might call a snap general election to get his own mandate and present voters with broader proposals for relations with the EU.
Burnham said that there would be no election in the near future. His statement came as the Labour Party's poll ratings rose.
In the constituency of Makerfield, which the British Prime Minister represents, 65 percent of voters supported leaving the EU in the 2016 referendum.
The next important step in relations between London and Brussels will be the UK-EU summit on November 20. Burnham said that options for future relations would be discussed around the meeting, without raising the issue of re-membership within the current mandate.
Sources: news.bg, itv.com, theguardian.com