Andy Burnham used his second day as Prime Minister to reinforce his view that Brexit is largely responsible for a "decade of low growth" in the UK, using Prime Minister's Questions to make the case again after first raising it in his Commons debut a day earlier. He said he wanted a closer relationship with the EU, building on work started by his predecessor Sir Keir Starmer, and would press for a better deal for British farming and steel at an upcoming UK-EU summit, prompting some laughter from opposition benches.

The exchange came after Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey urged Burnham to pursue single market membership, blaming the Conservatives and Reform's Nigel Farage for the "terrible Brexit deal" holding back growth. Burnham agreed with Davey's analysis but stopped short of committing to single market membership, instead pointing to concrete concerns such as new EU steel tariffs, which have cut tariff-free import quotas by 47 per cent to 18.3 million tonnes a year, and the UK's own 51 per cent cut to tariff-free quotas for steel importers. Burnham is also due to host French President Emmanuel Macron in London, with both leaders and their wives joining the King and Queen for a private viewing of the Bayeux Tapestry.