Andy Burnham will use the ‘boiling frog’ strategy to get us to rejoin the EU, warns Mark Francois

Conservative shadow minister Mark Francois has accused Andy Burnham of seeking to bring the UK back into the EU gradually, without holding another referendum. Francois argues that Burnham expects to lose a referendum and could instead use closer ties as a step towards rejoining, making the issue a point of political debate.

Francois linked his claims to an upcoming UK-EU summit and predicted that Labour might promise stronger links in a general election manifesto, then present an election victory as a mandate to rejoin. He also criticised a proposed UK contribution to EU regional development projects, arguing that the UK should not subsidise programmes abroad after voting to leave. These are Francois’s allegations and predictions; the article provides no response from Burnham.