'We had a referendum': Chancellor John Healey breaks ranks on Brexit despite Prime Minister Andy Burnham's Cabinet gag
Andy Burnham and Kemi Badenoch clash at PMQs as Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds refused to give his personal view on free movement, offering only "the Government line.
Chancellor John Healey broke openly with Andy Burnham's Brexit stance on Thursday, telling LBC he did not accept that Britain's growth would be stronger inside the EU or single market, directly contradicting his own prime minister's line. Healey's intervention came despite Burnham invoking Cabinet collective responsibility to silence ministers on the issue. Burnham has already said Brexit "weakened our economy" and raised the prospect of a referendum on rejoining.
Healey told LBC bluntly: 'We had a referendum — we're out of the European Union.'
Burnham warned ministers that anyone who wants to break ranks on Brexit must resign from Cabinet.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and Health Secretary Yvette Cooper are among the Eurosceptic ministers reportedly uneasy with Burnham's EU push.
