Even arch Remainer David Cameron warns Andy Burnham against 'painful' plot to rejoin EU

Lord David Cameron has warned Andy Burnham against launching a "long and painful" plot to rejoin the European Union.

The ex-Prime Minister, who resigned after losing the 2016 referendum, argued Britain's economic problems were not a result of the UK's departure from the Brussels bloc.

Lord Cameron had warned leaving the EU would result in a recession and cost each household £4,300 per year.

Speaking to Bloomberg, the ex-Prime Minister said: "Today, instead of launching an argument about rejoining, which I think would be a very long and painful argument, and who knows where it would end up, instead of that, focus on how do we be the best friend, best neighbour, best partner."

Lord Cameron added: “I don’t think actually necessarily joining a customs union is the right answer.

"If you look at the economic problems we have today, I don’t really think they’ve got anything to do with Brexit at all.

"I mean, our economic problems are we are overspending, over-borrowing, over-taxing, over-regulated, and far too much being spent on working-age welfare. Those are a set of problems that have nothing to do with Brexit."

Reflecting on the 2016 referendum campaign, Lord Cameron stressed he was "desperately disappointed" to have lost to Vote Leave and wanted to stay in a reformed Brussels bloc.

The British people voted to leave the European Union after Lord Cameron carried out a renegotiation with member states ahead of the 2016 poll.

More than 17.4 million Britons backed severing ties with Brussels, outnumbering the 16.1 million who wanted to remain a member of the continental club.

Lord Cameron resigned on the morning of the referendum result, saying: "I think the country requires fresh leadership to take it in this direction."

Reform UK MP Suella Braverman, who sat as a Conservative when Lord Cameron called the referendum on EU membership, revealed she had a face-to-face meeting with the then-Prime Minister over her decision to back Brexit.

Speaking to GB News about Lord Cameron's U-turn, Mrs Braverman said: "It's only taken him 10 years to come round to Nigel's way of thinking, my way of thinking, but I guess we've got to give him credit for getting there in the end."

But the former Prime Minister’s intervention will come as a major blow to Andy Burnham ahead of his first UK-EU summit in Brussels on November 20.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who was seen as Lord Cameron’s 2016 referendum sparring partner, will be in the Belgian capital to warn against closer alignment with the EU.

Mr Burnham is expected to announce measures to forge a closer relationship with the Brussels bloc, including dynamic alignment on food.

However, the EU is also pushing for a youth mobility scheme and for the UK to relax plans to deport foreign nationals kept in British prisons.

The Prime Minister, who insists he will stick to Labour’s 2024 manifesto red lines, admitted last month that he would like to see the UK rejoin the EU in his lifetime.

“In my lifetime, I would like to see that happen,” Mr Burnham said last month.

GB News revealed yesterday that the Prime Minister is facing a revolt from Red Wall MPs over his plot to rejoin the EU.

The People’s Channel, which contacted every single sitting Labour MP, found that 29 had expressed opposition to rejoining the Brussels bloc.

However, a Eurosceptic Labour source suggested the number of Brexit rebels could grow following next week's summit.

“We believe around 50 Labour MPs oppose rejoining the EU," an insider said.

Meanwhile, around 100 MPs had either voiced support for the Prime Minister's position or wanted to rejoin the bloc altogether.