Burnham Opens Door to EU Rejoin Bid as Part of Long-Term Brexit Reset

Andy Burnham has signalled that rejoining the European Union could be one of several options the government examines as it seeks to redefine Britain's long-term relationship with the bloc, in comments that mark his clearest break yet from Labour's previous Brexit stance.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, the prime minister said the existing Brexit arrangement had done "more harm than good" and that he wanted to assess "what is doable" to repair ties with Brussels. His remarks follow a pledge made during his Labour conference speech on Tuesday to pursue closer cooperation with the EU at a delayed summit later this year.

The intervention is significant because it suggests Burnham is prepared to revisit a question that all major parties have spent years trying to avoid. Since leaving office, successive governments have treated EU membership as a settled matter, with the debate largely confined to the terms of the trade relationship rather than the question of membership itself.

Asked directly whether he wanted the UK to rejoin, Burnham declined to give a yes or no answer, instead saying he wanted to "look at the options." He acknowledged that he had previously advocated such a move within his lifetime but conceded that "not necessarily the case that that is now."

He outlined a spectrum of possibilities, telling the programme: "We could stay as we are. That's definitely an option, if people think this is the right place to stay. We could look at what [former Chancellor] George Osborne has said about a customs union, we could look at what the Liberal Democrats [said at their conference] about the single market, or we could go all the way." He added that each path carried distinct advantages and drawbacks that would need careful assessment.

The phrase "go all the way" is likely to be interpreted in Westminster as a reference to full EU membership, a position Burnham has previously hinted at but never stated so plainly while in office. Last week, he left the door open to campaigning at the next general election for a mandate to rejoin the EU, though he stopped short of committing to such a pledge.

That marks a considerable shift from his position during the Makerfield by-election, the contest that returned him to Parliament. At the time, he promised not to "re-run" the Brexit arguments and said he was "not proposing that the UK considers rejoining the EU." His latest comments suggest he now believes the question cannot be indefinitely avoided.

The change also puts clear distance between Burnham and the 2024 Labour manifesto, which promised to "make Brexit work" while explicitly ruling out rejoining either the customs union or the single market. His predecessor, Sir Keir Starmer, pursued a more limited reset, focusing on aligning with EU food standards, securing a youth visa deal and relinking British industry to the EU's carbon trading regime.

Sir Keir's departure from office delayed a summer summit with the EU until later this year. Burnham has said he intends to use that rescheduled meeting to publish a ten-year plan to transform the UK economy and to lay out "different options" for the country's long-term relationship with Europe.

In his conference speech, he blamed Brexit for a loss of control over both immigration and the economy, telling delegates the current relationship was not "good enough." He promised to "find consensus" on a preferred option, although he did not explain how that consensus would be measured or what form it might take.

The political response was swift. Conservative deputy leader Alex Burghart accused Burnham of trying to "reopen old wounds by restarting the battles of the Brexit years," and argued that Labour could not blame a vote held more than a decade ago for its own economic decisions. He also claimed the government was "already dragging us into the European Union via the back door with their EU reset."

The clash sets up what could become a defining dividing line at the next general election. If Burnham formally adopts a rejoin platform, it would represent the most substantial realignment of British European policy since the 2016 referendum, and would force the Conservatives and other parties to define their own positions in response.

Within Labour, the move is likely to energise pro-European members who have long felt the party was too cautious on the issue, but it also risks alienating voters in seats that backed Leave. Burnham's emphasis on examining "pros and cons" and on what is "doable" appears designed to keep both wings of the debate engaged while avoiding a premature commitment.

The Liberal Democrats have already staked out a more ambitious position, promising tax cuts for millions if the UK rejoins the EU single market. That proposal, combined with Burnham's remarks, suggests the broader political centre-left may be converging on a more openly pro-European offer.

Much will depend on the outcome of the delayed summit and on how the government frames its ten-year economic plan. Burnham has framed the EU question as inseparable from the wider challenge of restoring growth, arguing that the current settlement has constrained Britain's economic options without delivering the control its advocates promised.

Whether that argument resonates with the public remains uncertain. Polling has shown a gradual shift in favour of closer ties with the EU, but support for full rejoin remains short of a clear majority, and the issue is capable of dominating political debate in ways that crowd out other priorities.

For now, Burnham has stopped short of a formal commitment, presenting rejoining as one among several paths rather than a destination. But by naming it openly and refusing to rule it out, he has reopened a question that his party had spent years trying to close.