Andy Burnham insists closer EU ties will lower cost of living

On November 20, he will meet with representatives of the bloc and is expected to buckle to the EU’s demands.

The EU-UK summit will focus on removing post-Brexit red tape on food and farming, and working closely together on emissions trading.

Labour has also announced that the UK will rejoin the Erasmus+ scheme, which would make it easier for European students to study in Britain and vice versa.

Several senior Labour MPs and figures fear that closer ties to the EU could put them at risk of losing their seats to Reform UK.

But Mr Burnham has now suggested he will push for a deeper bond with the bloc in the aftermath of the summit.

Speaking to the Sunday Mirror ahead of the Brussels gathering, Mr Burnham made a case for forging closer ties with the UK’s continental neighbours based on bringing down household costs.

He said: “It pays to have a good relationship with your neighbours, and the practical deals we are agreeing with Europe will pay off for families across the UK.

“Cutting red tape on food coming in and out of the country will ease pressure on prices at the supermarket, while making life easier for farmers and food producers.

“This summit will show what we can achieve when we work together, but it doesn’t need to be the end of our ambition.

“Working more closely with Europe could drive growth, make our country safer and give us more tools to tackle illegal migration. That’s a conversation worth having.”

Government sources said restoring access to the EU’s migration database would help tackle illegal channel crossings and other migration crime, according to the Sunday Mirror.

The UK aligned with the EU on food standards ahead of the crucial summit earlier this week.

Britain’s food producers will scrap labels reading “not for EU” as a result of a new sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement.

But some products may have to be reformulated to meet EU standards, and others will face new enforcement and regulation.

Mr Burnham, who previously admitted to wanting to see Britain in the EU again, has said there was an “honest conversation” to be had around deeper bonds with the EU, and even suggested restoring free movement with the bloc in a move Nigel Farage slammed as a “betrayal”.

He has insisted that a range of options would be presented to the public, and ruled out any major changes before an election.

However, the Prime Minister faces some difficulties in forging significantly closer ties with the EU.

Michel Barnier, Brussels’ former chief Brexit negotiator, warned that Britain will not be able to pick and choose which elements of the European Union’s single market arrangements it wants if it decides to move closer to the bloc.

EU member states would insist the UK adopt measures such as the free movement of people in exchange for easier trade, he told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.