Andy Burnham has been warned of the “ultimate humiliation” amid plans for a “reset” with the European Union.
Speaking to GB News, former No10 Special Adviser Oscar Reddrop said becoming realigned with the bloc would be a “betrayal” of Britons who voted to leave a decade ago.
Amid his visit to the UK, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has been invited by the EU to become an “associate member”.
On Wednesday, European Commission leader Ursula von der Leyen threw her support behind “opening the door” to establish much closer ties with Canada across key sectors.
Questioned on whether the UK would follow suit amid Mr Burnham’s plans for a “reset” of EU relations, Mr Reddrop told GB News that it would mean the PM “kneeling to his backbenchers”.
He said: “The Canada movement towards the EU, that’s crazy geographically, but there’s less pain there, there’s less damage there. There’s less divisiveness there. Weirdly, oddly enough.
“But for us, if Andy Burnham was to kind of kneel to these backbench MPs who were pushing us in that direction for the UK to become some honorary associate member, that would be in many ways, I think, an ultimate humiliation for this country.”
The ex-adviser warned that the move would be a “betrayal” of Britons who voted to leave the EU.
Oscar Reddrop warns of an ‘ultimate humiliation’ for Andy Burnham amid ‘reset’ with Brussels
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PA / GB NEWS
He said: “And don’t get me wrong, the tidal wave that is coming, that is about to hit Burnham and this country on the cost of borrowing, energy costs, the budget where it’s doomed if you do, damned if you don’t kind of dynamics at play.
“Is he going to think of something totally wild and out of the box like some real, almost formalised association with the EU and partnership? But the betrayal, the betrayal it would be for the millions of people that voted to leave.”
Looking ahead to the Budget in October, Mr Reddrop stressed that the current economic picture for the country is “frightening”.
He told GB News: “On the decisions that are to come, without being too depressing, the kind of the economic outlook at the moment is as bleak, and it’s actually bordering on quite frightening, I think.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney watched Everton’s League Cup tie against Wolves with fellow Toffees fan Andy Burnham
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PA“And the real decision is either do you cut spend? Will Burnham cut spending? Ultimately, I don’t think he’s going to have the bottle for that personally.”
Mr Reddrop added: “The other alternative is, of course, tax rises, and I don’t think the backs of the British people can take that.
“So I genuinely, as someone who’s obviously worked in No10 now coming on TV as a commentator, I don’t know, there is pain either way.”
Responding to Mr Reddrop, host Mark White then argued that if the PM decides to “tax the rich” in the Budget, it could result in “more rich individuals leaving the country”.
Mr Reddrop told GB News that the economic outlook for Britain is ‘frightening’
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GB NEWS
Mark highlighted: “It’ll be tax the rich even more and then more in the way of rich individuals will be leaving the country.
“We got the news of one billionaire just a week ago, leaving with the £330million annually that he was paying into the Exchequer. It seems very short-sighted?”
Mr Reddrop agreed: “Yeah, and actually, it won’t just be the rich. My concern and my fear and my worries is that lent to his own gut instincts of his politics and the people around him, it will be people watching this show.
“People who are probably working two or three jobs in their household or whatever. I think tax rises in some form or another are coming for us all in a couple of months.”