Burnham Opens Door to EU Rejoin Bid as Labour's Brexit Reset Hangs in the Balance

Andy Burnham has signalled that rejoining the European Union could form part of the government's long-term strategy for rebuilding Britain's relationship with the bloc, in comments that mark his clearest departure yet from Labour's existing Brexit policy.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, the prime minister said the current post-Brexit arrangement had delivered "more harm than good" and that he was determined to examine "what is doable" to repair ties with Brussels.

His remarks followed a pledge made during his Labour conference speech on Tuesday, in which he committed to exploring closer cooperation with the EU at a summit scheduled for later this year. The gathering, originally planned for the summer, was pushed back after Sir Keir Starmer's departure from office.

Burnham, who returned to Parliament via the Makerfield by-election, was asked directly whether he favoured EU membership. He responded that he wanted to "look at the options" rather than commit to a single path, saying he did not want to leave the question of Britain's European relationship "hanging".

He told the programme he wanted clarity on "where we want Britain to go in the next decade", adding that while he had previously advocated rejoining within his lifetime, that outcome was "not necessarily the case that that is now".

The prime minister went on to outline what he described as a spectrum of possibilities. "We could stay as we are. That's definitely an option, if people think this is the right place to stay," he said, before pointing to former Chancellor George Osborne's proposals on a customs union, the Liberal Democrats' conference position on the single market, and the prospect of going "all the way" back into the bloc.

"So there are clearly options that need to be considered, and we have to look at what is doable and what would be the pros and cons of each," he added. The framing suggests Burnham intends to present voters with a menu of alternatives rather than a single predetermined destination.

The comments represent a significant shift from the position Burnham adopted during the Makerfield campaign, when he explicitly promised not to "re-run" the Brexit arguments and stated he was "not proposing that the UK considers rejoining the EU". His latest intervention is also a decisive break from Labour's 2024 election manifesto, which pledged to "make Brexit work" while ruling out any return to the customs union or single market.

Sir Keir Starmer had pursued a more cautious approach, seeking a limited reset in relations that included aligning with EU food standards, a youth visa deal, and reconnecting British industry to the bloc's carbon trading regime. Burnham's willingness to broaden that agenda reflects a more ambitious vision for the UK's place in Europe.

In his conference address, Burnham blamed Brexit for the loss of national control over both immigration and the economy, telling delegates the existing relationship was not "good enough". He said he wanted to use the rescheduled summit to lay out "different options" for the country's long-term relationship with Europe, and promised to "find consensus" around a preferred approach, though he offered no detail on how that consensus would be measured.

The political consequences could be substantial. The issue threatens to become a defining dividing line at the next general election, with the Conservatives accusing the prime minister of attempting to "reopen old wounds by restarting the battles of the Brexit years".

Conservative deputy leader Alex Burghart responded sharply to Burnham's conference speech, saying: "Labour cannot pin the blame for their disastrous economic decisions on a vote that happened over a decade ago." He further claimed the government was "already dragging us into the European Union via the back door with their EU reset".

Burnham has separately said he wants to publish a 10-year plan to transform the UK economy alongside the delayed summit, tying the European question directly to his domestic growth agenda. The combination of the two announcements suggests the government intends to frame the EU relationship as an economic necessity rather than a constitutional debate.

Last week, Burnham had already left the door open to campaigning at the next election for a mandate to rejoin the EU, a move that would require voters to endorse a position far beyond anything Labour proposed in 2024. His latest remarks go further by explicitly naming rejoining as one of several viable options under consideration.

The Liberal Democrats have also sought to occupy similar territory, with leader Ed Davey promising tax cuts for millions if the UK rejoins the EU single market, a position Burnham cited approvingly in his interview. That overlap could complicate Labour's attempts to own the pro-European ground while managing internal party divisions.

For now, Burnham appears to be testing the political temperature rather than committing to a specific course. By refusing to rule anything in or out, he has created space to gauge public opinion before the delayed summit, at which he is expected to set out the government's thinking in more concrete terms.

Whether that strategy succeeds may depend on his ability to persuade voters that revisiting the Brexit settlement is a question of economic pragmatism, not a return to the bitter arguments of the past decade. The Conservative response indicates his opponents will fight hard to characterise it as exactly that.