Andy Burnham’s ‘EU reset’ set to cost British families over £1.2k, new research shows

This could mean Britons will be funding net zero schemes or infrastructure programs in Romania and Hungary, at the cost of £1,220 per working family.

In addition to the possible £13billion bill for contributions to reducing economic and social disparities, Labour has already agreed to pay £570million for the Erasmus+ scheme in 2027.

Making the announcement today, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said Britain should honour its veterans by creating new opportunities for future generations “through closeness and collaboration with our allies”.

Speaking to GB News, Ms Nandy said: “We are going back into Erasmus. We previously announced that, and what we have announced this weekend is that we’re widening participation in that scheme to make sure that young people from towns like Wigan, where I’m from, get the chance to go and do cultural exchanges with counterparts across Europe.

“To honour the legacy of a generation of veterans in World War II who went out and fought not just for our freedom, but for the freedom of people across Europe.”

The Government has also agreed for EU students to pay “home” tuition fees at British universities, meaning taxpayers subsiding EU students.

The move could cost up to £450million annually according to some estimates, and £580million according to the Russell Group. This could total a further £4.5billion or more over a decade.

The analysis concluded that the draft agreement is just the first stage in what looks set to be a “series of expensive concessions” to Brussels.

British taxpayers are also set to be rinsed by a deal that will trade away sovereignty over vital matters of national security.

The Tories say that it is all because Andy Burnham is “desperate to appease his own left-wing backbenchers”, and would rather “reopen the debates of a decade ago than tackle the challenges our country faces today”.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said of the analysis: “Now Britain has left the EU, we should continue to negotiate confidently with our European friends.

“What I see from Burnham is not confidence but weakness. His repeated claims at the despatch box, telling the whole world that Brexit has been bad for the UK, have weakened his negotiating position before he has even got to Brussels.

“So he is going to the EU as a supplicant and that will cost us all.”

She continued: “We are running out of money, yet Brussels wants British taxpayers to fund development projects in other EU countries as the price of access to its electricity market.

“We need our Prime Minister to be strong on the world stage. My worry is that Burnham will let Brussels play him for a fool.

“He seems so desperate for a deal that he is prepared to let Brussels dictate the terms.

“He must be prepared to walk away rather than leave British taxpayers billions of pounds worse off just to please his Labour backbenchers.”

Mr Burnham has made the case for forging closer ties with the UK’s continental neighbours based on “bringing down household costs”.

He told the Sunday Mirror: “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.”