UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said rejoining the European Union could be considered as part of a broader review of Britain’s long-term relationship with Europe, signalling a potentially significant shift in Labour’s approach to Brexit.
Burnham said the government should examine the full range of options available, from maintaining the current Brexit arrangements to closer integration with the EU’s customs union or single market, and ultimately rejoining the bloc.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Burnham said he wanted the government to establish a clear direction for Britain’s relationship with Europe rather than leave the issue unresolved.
“We could stay as we are,” Burnham said, while also pointing to proposals for a customs union and single-market membership before adding that the UK could “go all the way”.
He said the government would need to assess what was politically and practically possible, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each option.
Burnham wants wider review of Brexit relationship
The comments came days after Burnham used his Labour conference speech to call for a reassessment of the UK’s relationship with the EU.
He argued that the existing Brexit settlement had contributed to problems involving immigration and the economy and said he did not believe the current relationship was adequate.
Burnham has proposed using a rescheduled UK-EU summit later this year to discuss different possible models for Britain’s future relationship with the bloc. He has also said he wants to set out a 10-year plan for transforming the British economy.
The government is expected to examine closer cooperation with the EU, although Burnham’s latest comments go further than the limited reset previously pursued by his predecessor, Sir Keir Starmer.
Starmer’s approach included measures such as closer alignment with EU food standards, a youth mobility arrangement and reconnecting British industry with the bloc’s carbon trading system.
From “make Brexit work” to rejoining debate
Burnham’s position also represents a departure from Labour’s 2024 election platform, which committed the party to making Brexit work while ruling out rejoining the EU’s customs union or single market.
The prime minister had previously been more cautious about reopening the question of EU membership.
During the Makerfield by-election campaign that preceded his return to Parliament, Burnham said he was not proposing that Britain consider rejoining the EU and promised not to rerun the arguments surrounding Brexit.
Last week, however, he left open the possibility of campaigning at the next general election for a mandate to rejoin the bloc.
His latest comments provide the clearest indication so far that the government is willing to consider the question as part of a longer-term European strategy.
Conservatives accuse Labour of reopening Brexit divide
The Conservatives have criticised Burnham’s approach, arguing that Labour’s economic decisions should not be blamed on Brexit.
Conservative deputy leader Alex Burghart said Labour was reopening divisions from the Brexit years and accused the government of moving Britain closer to the EU through its proposed reset.
The criticism underlines the political sensitivity surrounding any move towards deeper European integration. The UK’s departure from the EU followed the 2016 referendum and formally took effect in 2020, making Brexit one of the defining political issues of the past decade.
Burnham has nevertheless said the government needs to consider what Britain’s relationship with Europe should look like over the next decade and seek a broader consensus around its eventual direction.
