The Prime Minister said he wants to consider options on the UK’s future relationship with the EU at a summit later this year, including going ‘all the way’.
Andy Burnham at Labour conference (Image: Getty)
Andy Burnham has reopened the door to U-turning on Brexit by suggesting the UK could rejoin the EU.
The Prime Minister said he wants his government to re-examine Britain’s relationship with Europe at his first Labour Party conference as leader on Tuesday. In his emotional speech, he said the government will explore options on Britain’s connection with the EU at a summit in the next year.
However, he has now suggested to BBC Radio 4 one option is rejoining the EU in full, among others. He said: “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 Conservative 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.
“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.”
Previously, Burnham said he ‘hoped’ Britain would rejoin the bloc in his lifetime. However, in his campaign to become the MP for Makerfield in the summer, he said he wanted to avoid ‘re-running’ the Brexit debate.
He also said he would stick to Labour’s 2024 general election manifesto, which called for closer ties to the EU — but explicitly ruled out rejoining.
It now appears Labour’s position on the EU could be shifting. In his speech to the Labour Party conference, the Prime Minister said Brexit had done ‘more harm than good’ and called for Britain to consider its ‘long-term relationship’ with the EU. He announced that he would use the UK-EU summit expected later this year to set out what he believed were the ‘different options’ and attempt to find a political consensus on a way forward.
Other party figures have followed suit. Labour MP Stella Creasy said ‘everything must be on the table’, including removing the ‘red lines’ set down in the 2024 manifesto that bar rejoining the EU’s single market or the customs union.
She said: “Removing the red lines on Europe is the essential first step to restoring this country’s place on the world stage. We stand with this Prime Minister in making the changes that truly live up to the challenges of 2026, not 2016.”