Express readers were asked whether they favour such a move, with an overwhelming 88% of 6,624 poll respondents saying “no”.

Those in favour of a reversal made up 12% (773) of the total, with 42 respondents saying they didn’t know if the UK should reverse Brexit or not.

She accused Mr Burnham of reigniting the debate over UK membership as a “distraction”.

Asked whether she would rule out rejoining or returning to a customs union or single market, she said: “All of these things are being discussed by people who did not pay attention to what happened when we had the negotiations last time.

“We’re not going to get the same terms that we had. Does anybody really believe Andy Burnham is going to get Margaret Thatcher’s rebate back? This is all a distraction. We need to focus on sorting our economy out.”

Andy Burnham dealt Brexit blow as bombshell poll tears apart his EU plan

Andy Burnham’s decision to reopen the debate over Britain’s long-term relationship with the European Union has triggered an immediate political backlash, with a new poll of Daily Express readers showing overwhelming opposition to reversing Brexit.

The result comes just days after the Prime Minister dramatically widened the range of options being considered by his Government, saying Britain could examine everything from the current relationship with Brussels to a customs union, the single market and, potentially, full EU membership.

The issue has rapidly become one of the most contentious questions facing Burnham’s government.

However, the polling evidence is more complicated than the headline figures suggest.

A Daily Express online poll asking readers whether Britain should reverse Brexit recorded 6,624 responses. Of those, 88 per cent answered no, while 12 per cent supported reversing Brexit and 42 respondents said they did not know.

That result represents a striking reaction among people who chose to participate in the Express poll, but it should not be interpreted as a representative measurement of British public opinion.

Other polling conducted using established survey samples has produced a markedly different picture.

YouGov’s June 2026 research found that 55 per cent of respondents supported Britain rejoining the EU, compared with 34 per cent who opposed it. At the same time, however, YouGov found even greater support — 59 per cent — for a closer relationship with the EU without rejoining the bloc, the single market or the customs union.

Those contrasting figures reveal why Burnham’s Brexit strategy could prove politically complicated.

Burnham opens the door to all options

The Prime Minister used his Labour conference speech to argue that Britain needed to reassess its relationship with European partners as part of a longer-term national plan.

He said Brexit had done “more harm than good” and argued that the country should examine what future arrangements could best serve Britain’s economic and national interests.

The following day, Burnham went further.

Speaking to the BBC, he said the Government could maintain the existing relationship, consider a customs union or examine membership of the single market.

He also said Britain could “go all the way”, making clear that full EU membership was among the possibilities being discussed.

Reuters reported that Burnham stressed that no immediate referendum was planned and that the debate formed part of a longer-term assessment of Britain’s relationship with Europe.

That distinction is important.

Burnham has not announced that Britain will rejoin the EU.

Nor has he announced that Labour will definitely put EU membership in its next election manifesto.

Instead, he has deliberately kept several possibilities open while saying that public opinion and the practical consequences of different arrangements would need to be examined.

A dramatic reaction from Express readers

The Daily Express poll nevertheless illustrates the intensity of opposition that any attempt to reverse Brexit could encounter.

The poll asked a straightforward question about whether Britain should reverse its departure from the EU. Among respondents, 88 per cent rejected the idea.

The result immediately became ammunition for Burnham’s political opponents.

Nigel Farage has argued that the Prime Minister’s decision to reopen the Brexit question could create a significant political dividing line, particularly in parts of northern and Midlands England that voted Leave in 2016.

Speaking in Doncaster, the Reform UK leader said Burnham had created an opportunity for his party by discussing closer EU ties and possible re-entry.

Farage has also challenged the assumption that current support for EU membership necessarily translates into support for the full conditions of membership.

That is a significant argument because the details of any future relationship could radically change public attitudes.

The wording of the question matters

The difference between the Express poll and YouGov’s findings demonstrates one of the most important principles in interpreting political polling: question wording and methodology matter.

Asking voters whether Britain should “reverse Brexit” is not necessarily the same as asking whether Britain should have a closer relationship with the EU.

YouGov found 59 per cent support for a closer relationship that stopped short of EU membership, the single market and customs union.

Among people who voted Leave in 2016, support for such a closer relationship stood at 54 per cent.

By contrast, only 23 per cent of Leave voters in the same YouGov research supported full EU re-entry.

That suggests that even among voters who now favour closer cooperation with Europe, there is a substantial distinction between improving the existing relationship and reversing the fundamental decision taken in 2016.

For Burnham, that distinction could be crucial.

Brexit voters remain an important part of the debate

The 2016 referendum remains deeply relevant because Britain’s political geography has changed since then.

Many constituencies that voted Leave subsequently became important parts of Labour’s electoral coalition.

Burnham therefore faces a difficult political communication task: explaining why he believes closer relations with the EU could benefit Britain without appearing to dismiss the result of the referendum.

His opponents are already attempting to frame the debate in precisely those terms.

Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, has criticised the reopening of the issue and argued that returning to the EU would not automatically solve Britain’s economic problems.

She has also questioned whether Britain could obtain the same arrangements it enjoyed before Brexit.

That argument goes beyond the simple question of Leave versus Remain.

It raises the practical issue of what membership would actually mean if Britain sought to rejoin.

Rejoining would not simply mean turning back the clock

One of the most important facts in the debate is that Britain cannot simply return to its pre-2020 position by political declaration.

A future government seeking EU membership would have to negotiate with the European Union.

French President Emmanuel Macron has already warned that Britain could not expect to select only the parts of membership it preferred.

Reuters reported that Macron welcomed the possibility of Britain eventually returning to the EU but rejected the idea of a relationship in which Britain could “pick and choose” among the bloc’s freedoms.

That means the debate over EU membership would involve much more than trade.

It could involve regulatory alignment, movement between Britain and EU countries, contributions to the EU budget and the wider institutional obligations associated with membership.

Even voters who support closer relations with Europe might have different views once those practical terms were placed before them.

Farage seizes on the opportunity

For Nigel Farage, the reopening of the Brexit question provides an opportunity to revive an issue that has defined much of his political career.

He has argued that many voters who supported Brexit have not changed their fundamental view of the decision.

Farage also claims that support for rejoining the EU can look different when voters are presented with potential costs and conditions.

His comments are political arguments rather than established conclusions, but they point towards the campaign strategy Reform UK is likely to pursue if Brexit becomes a central electoral issue again.

Farage has already described Burnham’s intervention as a major political boost for his party.

The Reform leader has said he welcomes the prospect of confronting Burnham over the issue in Leave-voting areas.

That means the Brexit debate could become not simply a Labour-versus-Conservative argument but a much broader contest involving Reform, the Liberal Democrats, Greens and other parties with differing positions on Britain’s relationship with Europe.

Downing Street is testing public opinion

The political significance of the issue is underlined by reports that Downing Street officials have been consulting polling organisations and think tanks about public attitudes towards rejoining the EU.

The Guardian reported that senior officials had been speaking to organisations working on European policy and public opinion as the Government considers its longer-term approach.

That does not mean a decision to rejoin has been made.

Instead, it suggests the Government wants to understand how voters respond to different levels of integration before committing itself.

That could include examining attitudes towards the single market, customs union, sector-specific agreements and full membership.

The November UK-EU summit is expected to provide another opportunity for Burnham to set out his thinking.

The political risk of reopening Brexit

The contrasting polling results demonstrate the challenge.

On one hand, YouGov’s research shows that support for rejoining the EU has risen since the referendum and that a majority of respondents in its June survey supported membership.

On the other hand, the same research found that the most supported option was not necessarily full membership but a closer relationship that stopped short of rejoining the EU, the single market and customs union.

The Express poll, meanwhile, demonstrates that strong opposition remains among at least one engaged audience.

These findings are not necessarily contradictory.

Britons can simultaneously believe Brexit has created problems, want closer cooperation with European countries and still oppose reversing Brexit completely.

That makes the wording and substance of Burnham’s eventual policy particularly important.

A debate that is only beginning

The latest polling has therefore not settled the question of Britain’s future relationship with Europe.

Instead, it has highlighted the divisions that Burnham will have to navigate.

The Prime Minister has opened the door to a discussion that previous Labour leadership had largely sought to keep closed.

He now has to explain what each possible relationship would mean for trade, immigration, regulation, sovereignty and Britain’s ability to make its own laws.

Opponents will argue that reopening Brexit creates uncertainty and risks alienating Leave voters.

Supporters of closer European integration will argue that Britain’s post-Brexit relationship has imposed economic and practical costs that deserve reconsideration.

Neither argument can be settled simply by one online poll.

The Express result is evidence of strong opposition among its participating readers, while YouGov’s representative polling shows a much more mixed national picture.

What happens next will depend on the details of the options placed before voters.

For now, Burnham has not committed Britain to rejoining the European Union.

He has committed his Government to examining the question.

That distinction is likely to remain at the heart of Britain’s political debate as the country moves towards the next stage of its relationship with Europe.

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