𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Labour tried to rejoin the European Union’s single market for goods but was rejected by Brussels. Britain’s chief negotiator Michael Ellam made the offer as part of Sir Keir Starmer’s ongoing Brexit reset.

It would have allowed British companies to sell their goods to Brussels without checks in return for following the bloc’s rules. But the plan was turned down by the EU because the UK would not accept a return to freedom of movement, which is one of the Prime Minister’s Brexit “red lines”.

An EU diplomat told The Guardian: “If you start going back on those principles — leading to a non-member being treated better than an actual member — you certainly would trigger an internal debate on the fundamentals of [EU] co-operation.”

It comes ahead of a UK-EU summit widely expected to take place in July, where a new youth mobility scheme and an end to food and agricultural product checks are on the cards.

Brexit has emerged as a major issue in the Labour leadership contest after Wes Streeting called for the UK to rejoin the EU.

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His intervention forced Andy Burnham to row back on his previous support for reversing Brexit as he eyes a return to Parliament next month’s Makerfield by-election, a Leave-voting area.

A Cabinet Office official said: “We have previously confirmed that the next UK-EU summit will be held this summer. A final date will be confirmed in due course.

“We are negotiating an ambitious package of measures with the EU ahead of the summit, including a food and drink SPS deal and emissions trading deal that, alone, are set to add up to £9 billion a year to the UK economy by 2040.”