Andy Burnham has vowed to seize a Brexit 'reset' deal 'with both hands' - as he faces Brussels demands to funnel UK taxpayers' cash to poorer EU states.
The Prime Minister claimed a package he is poised to sign off at a Brussels summit on 20 November would be an 'opportunity to add to UK growth'.
He is hoping to finalise pacts on food and farming, electricity and youth 'free movement' when he sits down with EU leaders later this month.
But concerns are growing about the price Mr Burnham is willing to pay in his bid for closer ties with the bloc.
Draft documents being circulated ahead of the Brussels summit have revealed how the Government is being told by the EU to pay into the bloc's development schemes.
This would be in exchange for British energy companies being allowed to trade freely in the EU's single market for electricity, it has emerged.
The Government is also facing demands to slash tuition fees for European students at British universities.
Meanwhile, up to 80,000 younger EU citizens could be allowed into the UK each year amid reports that ministers have relented to a push by Brussels to raise an annual cap.
Andy Burnham has vowed to seize a Brexit 'reset' deal 'with both hands' - as he faces Brussels demands to funnel UK taxpayers' cash to poorer EU states
The Prime Minister claimed a package he is poised to sign off with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on 20 November would be an 'opportunity to add to UK growth'
Speaking to broadcasters last night as he attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua, Mr Burnham defended his Brexit 'reset' plans.
Asked if he believed it was acceptable for the UK to have its rules on food trade made by the EU without any input, the PM said: 'What's facing me two weeks on Friday is a UK-EU summit where I have the opportunity to add to UK growth.
'It's estimated up to 0.4 per cent extra on GDP. I think people in Britain would expect me to take that with both hands, given where we've been in recent times, and that's what I'm doing.
'We're not in the EU, therefore, we do have to work with them in a different way.
'But if that can get growth, if that can help our farmers, if that can remove red tape from British businesses, I think most people would expect me to go to that summit and negotiate the best deal that I can.'
Ahead of the 20 November summit, a 200-page draft text for a sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement - under which the UK will follow EU rules on food safety, animal and plant health - is reportedly being shared among the bloc's members.
It has also emerged that draft deals on emissions trading and a 'youth experience scheme' are also being circulated alongside a 15-page joint statement for EU leaders.
The draft joint UK-EU statement sets out how British taxpayers' money could be funnelled into projects to build roads, airports and green energy facilities across the bloc's poorer member states, it has been revealed.
'We agree that the UK's participation in parts of the EU's internal market requires an appropriate level of financial contribution towards reducing economic and social disparities between the regions of the EU that reflects the degree of the UK's participation in the EU's internal market,' it reportedly states.
It has also emerged that the PM could agree to spending as much as £450million a year to give EU students cut-price tuition fees at UK universities.
Since Brexit, EU students in the UK have been charged higher international fees of between £11,400 and £38,000 a year for undergraduate courses. This is compared to the lower domestic rate for British students of £9,790 a year.
But Brussels is determined to see EU students pay the same rate as British students while they study in the UK.
It has also been reported that between 75,000 and 80,000 18 to 30-year-olds a year will be able to travel to the UK from the EU for up to three years under a proposed youth mobility scheme.
The proposed annual cap is said to be significantly higher than a figure of 50,000 previously offered by the UK's negotiators.
Furious Brexiteers have warned against Mr Burnham's Brexit 'reset' leaving Britain as a 'rule-taker', as fears grow that the Government will 'surrender' the freedoms won by leaving the EU.
Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, the former Tory cabinet minister, told the Mail that the Government appeared to be 'taking us back into the EU without telling anyone'.
He predicted that 'people will be absolutely furious' when the price of Mr Burnham's 'reset' is revealed, as he accused the Government of having 'caved in' to EU demands on free movement, dynamic alignment and financial contributions.
'It will remind us why we hate the EU,' the ex-business secretary said of the package being prepared by Labour ministers.
Speaking at a rally in central London on Tuesday, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: 'The reason why we left the EU was so we could make our own rules.
'But if what the Government is signing up to is just following EU rules, then what was the point of leaving?
'They are too scared to actually use the Brexit freedoms that we have.'
Whitehall sources stressed the draft UK-EU joint statement had not yet been agreed to and was a first draft put together by the bloc's negotiators while talks continue.
A Government spokesman said: 'We do not comment on leaks or provide a running commentary on live negotiations.
'We are building an ambitious, close relationship with the EU that will strengthen our economy, protect British industry, and create more opportunities for young people across the UK.'
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