Andy Burnham is facing calls to abandon Labour's Brexit "red lines" after a new poll found strong public appetite for closer ties with the European Union. Research from think tank British Future showed 56 per cent of voters would back the new prime minister going beyond the red lines set by his predecessor, Sir Keir Starmer, which rule out rejoining the customs union, single market or free movement. The findings add pressure on Burnham ahead of an EU summit later this year, despite No 10 insisting the government remains committed to those limits.

The poll also found 57 per cent support a reciprocal youth mobility scheme for 18-30-year-olds, with only 12 per cent opposed, and just one in five people believe Brexit has been a success, with 57 per cent calling it more of a failure. Some 46 per cent said they would vote to rejoin the EU against 29 per cent who would stay out. Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock and Welwyn Hatfield MP Andrew Lewin both urged Burnham to move faster on rebuilding EU relations, while British Future's Sunder Katwala said voters have "pragmatic permission" for closer cooperation, tempered by caution over free movement and another referendum.