Andy Burnham’s opening debate on whether Britain should rejoin the EU is divisive, painful and politically risky. That is why it should be welcomed. To jeopardise his popularity so soon after coming to office might seem reckless, but the issue is urgent and not going away. Brexit is continuing to damage the nation’s economy. The prime minister’s job is to challenge, if not reform it.

The Brexit decade has evoked a bizarre sense of guilt among Britons. Opinion polls show nearly 60% regard it as a mistake, with just a third still in favour. Almost a quarter of those who voted for Brexit now regret it. While early forecasts of economic disaster were proved wrong, the accumulated cost of cutting links with Britain’s biggest trading partner is estimated at 6-8% of GDP.

This is huge. It must rank as the greatest act of self-harm by a British government in modern times.

A year ago Keir Starmer began to ease some of the barriers, with modest deals on youth exchange and meat exports. Burnham wants to take this further, with negotiations resuming in Brussels next month. Yesterday in the Commons he cited damage to the car industry, while agriculture remains mired in dozens of pages of regulation. Fish rots in inspection........

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