Number 10’s lobby briefing with political hacks today was a torturous forty minute merry-go-round on what Andy Burnham really means when he opens his mouth on Brexit. Yet again…
Asked whether the government would rejoin the EU’s freedom of movement rules without a referendum, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said it was an “open conversation [but] “at the moment we haven’t set out either way“. Just this morning, Burnham himself said explicitly that the UK wouldn’t return to it without going to the country, claiming he would “never move ahead of the British public when it comes to Brexit”. In other words, clearly opening the door to a referendum. These were Burnham’s “personal” views, which seemingly can differ from the views of the government he is supposed to lead…
Pressed on what all this really meant, the spokesman said this afternoon:
“I would just point you back to his words, I have been clear, [we are] not at the stage where we have concrete proposals…”
A total mess…
Robert Jenrick told a rally on Monday:
“They say Chancellors are either undertakers or bookies. This one is an ostrich – and when the Chancellor buries his head in the sand, the rest of us, we’re left staring at his you know what.”