Brussels agenda risks "problems for steel" - UK PM Andy Burnham
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has warned Brussels' Made In Europe agenda "could pose significant problems for British steel", as he said he wanted a "closer relationship" with the EU.
Answering his first Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, Burnham indicated farming and steel were at the top of his agenda for talks with the 27-member bloc.
He said striking a "good deal for British steel" was "imperative", after Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey urged him to "join the single market".
On Tuesday, when he appeared in the Commons as Prime Minister for the first time, Burnham said: "Britain is not where any of us would wish it to be."
He claimed this was the result of a "series of wrong turns" since the 1980s, including "hollowing out councils", austerity measures and Brexit – the vote to leave the EU a decade ago and the withdrawal process which followed.
The EU earlier this year unveiled regulations designed to protect the steel industries in its member states, amid fears global overproduction of the alloy was affecting the bloc's steel market.
The deal limited tariff-free import volumes to 18.3 million tons a year – a 47% reduction compared with 2024 quotas.
The UK government also lowered the tariff-free quota level for steel importers by 51% compared to current arrangements, and any imports above these levels will face a 50% tariff.
Davey told the Commons: "The prime minister said yesterday that Brexit ushered in a decade of low growth and stalled regeneration – he is right.
"Our economy is stuck in this mess thanks to the Conservatives and the leader of Reform [Nigel Farage] and their terrible Brexit deal.
"Unless we grow the economy, there is no way we can end the cost-of-living crisis or cut the cost of borrowing for the government.
"The answer is staring him in the face – join the single market. Get a new deal with Europe and cut costs for families, businesses and government.
"It's the bold step our country desperately needs – will the prime minister take it?"
Responding, Burnham said: "I think he is absolutely right to share the analysis that I laid out yesterday.
"It's clear the low growth we've had – the decade of low growth – has been partly a result of Brexit.
"And the sooner the party opposite accepts that, the more we can start to face up to Britain's future and 'where do we go from here?' I do want a closer relationship – I will build on the work of my predecessor.
"There are issues facing British farming right now and there are issues facing British steel right now. And the Made In Europe agenda could pose significant problems for British Steel.
"So, as he will know, we are approaching a UK-EU summit in the next couple of months. It is imperative, I believe, that we work hard to get a good deal for British steel, for British farming as part of that new deal that he talks about."
The government made several interventions in the steel sector during the premiership of Burnham's predecessor, Keir Starmer.
Parliament was recalled in April 2025 – the first recall of Parliament on a Saturday since 1982 – to pass the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act, which led to the government instructing British Steel to keep blast furnaces running in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, after plans were drawn up to close them.
Earlier this year, the Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Act became law, paving the way for the government to take the British Steel company into public ownership, which it did in July.
By Will Meakin-Durrant, Press Association Political Staff
Press Association: Finance
source: PA
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