Though both sides were tight-lipped after the sit down, officials in London and Brussels plan to hold an EU-UK summit in November.<\/p>\n
With the exception of a trip to Kyiv <\/a>to meet Ukrainian president Volodomyr Zelensky, new prime minister Andy Burnham has spent most of his first weeks in power touring Britain, launching a series of modest but popular campaigns \u2013 including ending homelessness \u2013 and promising hope.<\/p>\n To those who have followed Burnham\u2019s ascent to power, this agenda is no surprise. Unlike his predecessor Keir Starmer, who last week announced he would quit British politics entirely to focus on \u201cglobal diplomacy, defence, and international affairs\u201d, the new PM has always been more interested in domestic politics.<\/p>\n But Burnham insists that he wants to continue the \u2018reset\u2019 agenda.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s clear the low growth we\u2019ve had \u2013 the decade of low growth \u2013 has been partly a result of Brexit,\u201d Burnham told the UK parliament on 2 September But don\u2019t expect that to mean a radical policy shift and a push for the UK to rejoin the EU\u2019s single market. <\/p>\n Limiting China fallout<\/p>\n Though the new UK regime could quickly agree to modest policy changes such as a youth mobility scheme (the main single demand of EU negotiators since 2023) that would seek the UK and EU part-fund education and training courses for each other’s citizens aged between 18 and 30, the most pressing priority, for the UK, will be limiting the potential collateral damage from the EU\u2019s trade defence measures aimed at China.<\/p>\n In the UK parliament last week, hours before a meeting with French president Emmanuel Macron, Burnham named steelmaking and farming<\/a> as the main British sectors he wants to protect as part of a new EU-UK deal.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ‘Made In Europe’ agenda could pose significant problems for British Steel,\u201d Burnham warned MPs last week. The UK government nationalised British Steel in July, days before Burnham replaced Starmer as prime minister.<\/p>\n The UK steel industry has already been hurt by the EU\u2019s decision to cap tariff-free steel imports to 18.3 million tonnes a year \u2013 a 47 percent reduction compared with 2024 quotas \u2013 to prevent Chinese oversupply of steel.<\/p>\n The UK followed suit by lowering its own tariff-free quota level for steel importers by 51 per cent, and slapping 50 percent duties on any imports above these levels.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Prime_Minister_Andy_Burnham_arrives_at_10_Downing_Street_55405705167-600x400.jpg\")
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\u201cAnd the sooner the party opposite accepts that, the more we can start to face up to Britain\u2019s future and \u2018where do we go from here?\u2019\u201d he added.<\/p>\n