John Healey, who Andy Burnham appointed as Chancellor of the Exchequer, agrees there must be a “limit” to how much the UK should contribute to the EU budget to secure improved access to the bloc
Chancellor John Healey insisted there were “very definite benefits” to securing a favoured deal with the EU — but not at any cost.
PM Andy Burnham will meet the bloc’s top brass in an UK-EU at a summit in Brussels in November 20. It is only second annual such event since Brexit.
Areas expected to be discussed include free movement, and possible confirmation of the removal of post-Brexit checks from food and agriculture exports. However, there will also be focus on how much the UK will have to contribute to the EU budget in exchange.
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Mr Healey, 66, told the Commons Treasury Committee: “There are very definite benefits if we can secure the deal that we want. There are benefits to the cost of business.”
Asked if there would be a “limit” to securing a deal with Brussels, Mr Healey said: “I think that has got to be true of any negotiator. You have to be sure that the benefits outweigh the costs.”
His comments follow signals which suggest Mr Healey is sceptical of the UK rejoining the EU.
Asked by Channel 4 after last month’s Budget whether he shared Mr Burnham’s suggestion that it could happen in his lifetime, Mr Healey said: “I’m older than Andy Burnham. I don’t expect to see that.” He is 66, while Mr Burnham is 56. Treasury officials later play downed the seriousness of Mr Healey’s comments.
It came as former Tory PM David Cameron said Britain should not rejoin the EU. He warned Mr Burnham that starting a conversation about rejoining would be “very long and painful”. Speaking in a Bloomberg interview, Mr Cameron — who led the Remain campaign in 2016 — urged Mr Burnham not to trigger another “decade-long debate about whether should be in or out.” He also said the UK should not enter a customs union with the EU.
Mr Burnham is set to meet António Costa, President of the European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, in Brussels.
Downing Street says the PM will use the summit to push for deals to cut costs and red tape for British farmers and businesses, support industry and “boost growth in every part of the country”.
However, the lead-up to the event — and the summit itself — are set prove highly controversial given the outcome of the Brexit vote a decade ago.
Mr Burnham has said he would welcome an “honest discussion” about the prospect of returning to free movement between the UK and European Union. That is despite migration dominating debate during the 2016 Brexit campaign.
Grilled by MPs, Mr Healey also insisted the government would not allow a “free-for-all” when it comes to building new data centres needed for the roll-out of AI.
He said measures announced in last month’s Budget would provide safeguards. He added: “I don’t want to see a free-for-all in data centres as we saw in the US,” while claiming it was important to ensure sensitive data, from health to security, is kept in the UK.
Mr Healey said new data centres must provide “clear committee benefits”. And he added: “I am ready to say no to data centres where they don’t bring those benefits.”
Mr Healey was also questions on delays to the decision on allowing a third runway at Heathrow. The Chancellor said: “I am frustrated.”