BCC Chief Urges Burnham to Make Brexit Repair Top Priority
British Chambers of Commerce director general backs PM's move to revisit Labour's EU red lines, calling current UK-EU trade ties harmful to business.
The head of one of Britain's most influential business lobby groups is calling on Prime Minister Andy Burnham to place repairing Brexit's economic damage at the top of his governing agenda, as the Labour leader signals a willingness to reconsider his party's long-standing positions on European Union relations.
Shevaun Haviland, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said she welcomed Burnham's decision to reopen debate over Labour's EU red lines, even acknowledging that the process could introduce short-term uncertainty for companies operating across borders. In Haviland's assessment, that uncertainty is a worthwhile trade-off given how damaging the current UK-EU trading framework has proven for British business.
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The BCC, which represents tens of thousands of businesses across the United Kingdom, has long flagged that post-Brexit trade friction — including customs checks, regulatory divergence, and barriers to services — has added cost and complexity for exporters and importers alike. Haviland's public endorsement of the prime minister's repositioning signals that the business community is ready for a more substantive conversation about resetting the UK's relationship with its largest trading partner.
The political stakes remain high. Any move toward closer EU alignment risks backlash from Brexit-supporting factions within and outside Labour, and negotiating changes to the existing Trade and Cooperation Agreement would require buy-in from Brussels. Still, business groups appear increasingly willing to pressure government to prioritize trade friction reduction over political caution.
The BCC's intervention underscores a broader shift in how British industry is framing the post-Brexit debate — less about relitigating the referendum and more about pragmatic steps to reduce the economic costs of the current arrangement. Continue reading at Business | The Guardian.
