Burnham says rejoining the EU is on the table as Britain rethinks Brexit
Andy Burnham has put the idea of Britain rejoining the European Union back into the political conversation, saying it is one of several options the
Andy Burnham has put the idea of Britain rejoining the European Union back into the political conversation, saying it is one of several options the government could examine to rebuild ties with Europe. Speaking to the BBC, he said Brexit had done “more harm than good” and argued ministers should look at “what is doable” rather than treat the current settlement as fixed.
The remarks land less than a week after Burnham used his Labour conference speech to promise a fresh look at the UK’s long-term relationship with the bloc. They also sharpen a fight that could shape the next general election, with Conservatives accusing him of trying to “reopen old wounds” from the Brexit years.
‘We could go all the way’
Burnham laid out a spectrum of choices when asked how far Britain should go in resetting relations with Brussels. The country could stay as it is, he said. It could pursue a customs union, or something closer to the single market. “We could go all the way,” he said, adding that the options were all there to be weighed.
The language was careful. It was also deliberate. Burnham did not promise an immediate move to rejoin the EU, but he left the door open to a future campaign for a mandate to do so at the next election. That possibility alone marks a significant shift in the debate, a decade after the referendum that took the UK out of the bloc.
Brexit debate returns to centre stage
Burnham’s intervention comes at a time when Europe has largely moved on from the Brexit shock, even as Britain continues to wrestle with its consequences. Polling in the UK has repeatedly suggested many voters now see Brexit as a mistake, and academic and policy debate has increasingly focused on how close the country can realistically get to the EU again.
But the road back is not simple. Analysts and commentators have pointed to major political and institutional obstacles to rejoining, even if support for closer ties has grown. That makes Burnham’s comments less a policy blueprint than a signal of where the fight may head next: not just over how Britain trades with Europe, but over whether the Brexit settlement itself should be reopened.
Pensions, care and political trade-offs
The EU remarks came as Burnham also set out a domestic policy shift in his conference speech, saying his government would end the existing state pension triple lock from 2030 to help pay for social care reform in England. The current system lifts pensions each year by whichever is highest of inflation, average wages or 2.5%.
Under the plan, the annual earnings link would be dropped from April 2030, a change the government says could save £15bn a year by 2040. Burnham framed the move as part of a broader attempt to fund care, but it immediately drew criticism from Tory figures.
For now, the next test is political. Burnham has signalled that the UK-EU relationship will be revisited before a delayed summit later this year. What emerges there could set the tone for a much larger argument still to come.
