Key facts
- Stay Out is chaired by Oliver Lewis, who was deputy chief negotiator for the UK government in trade talks with the bloc.
- Lord Gove, Vote Leave chairman in the 2016 referendum, said rejoining would mean handing back control of laws, borders, money and trade.
- Burnham has ruled out major changes to the UK's EU relationship before the next general election.
- Burnham said in September he wanted to look at the options on the UK's long-term relationship with the bloc.
A campaign group called Stay Out launched its opposition to the UK rejoining the European Union on November 13, ahead of a UK-EU summit at which Prime Minister Andy Burnham is expected to sign new agreements on food, energy and youth mobility on November 20.
Stay Out said any future attempt to rejoin could prove costly to taxpayers and that the UK should move on and spend its money on its own priorities. The group is chaired by Oliver Lewis, who worked for the Vote Leave campaign and served as deputy chief negotiator for the UK government in trade negotiations with the bloc.
Lord Gove, who chaired Vote Leave during the 2016 EU referendum, backed the group. He said rejoining would mean handing back control of UK laws, borders, money and trade and paying more for membership than before, and that people want Westminster to deliver on their priorities instead.
The launch came with analysis by the group claiming that rejoining would cost the UK £39.3bn a year in contributions, or £750m a week. BBC News said it had not independently verified the group's calculations.
Burnham has argued that Brexit has done more harm than good but has ruled out major changes to the UK's relationship with the EU before the next general election. He has said he wants to examine the pros and cons of options for the long-term relationship, and in September said he wanted to look at the options when asked whether he wanted the UK to rejoin.