Andy Burnham has broken his pledge to respect Brexit by opening the door to rejoining the EU, single market or customs union.
Andy Burnham betrays Leave voters with plan to rejoin EU (Image: Daily Express)
Andy Burnham has declared he would campaign to rejoin the EU just months after vowing to never undermine Britain’s historic vote to leave. Confirming the fears of millions of Leave voters, the ardent Remainer admitted he would consider dragging the country back into the customs union, the single market, or the EU itself. He threw open the door to Rejoin in his unashamedly socialist Labour Conference speech, before telling the BBC he could “go all the way”.
This marks the first time a sitting Prime minister has openly entertained tearing up the historic vote to leave, backed by 17.4 million Britons, and the Express. Mr Burnham campaigned to Remain, voted to Remain, and demanded a second referendum after his side lost.
He has long dreamed of dragging Britain back to Brussels, declaring this time last year that he wanted to see the UK shackled to the EU “in my lifetime”.
Yet when trying to win over voters in the fiercely pro-Brexit Makerfield seat – which backed Leave by 65% – he literally ran away from the Express when challenged on his Remain beliefs.
He went further still, vowing he would not “re-run” the Brexit arguments and explicitly ruling out proposing that Britain rejoin the bloc. That promise lies broken today.
Speaking in May, Mr Burnham said: “Britain will be stuck in a permanent rut if we’re just constantly arguing.” During a speech in Leeds, he admitted he believed Brexit had been “damaging” but insisted: “The last thing we should do right now is re-run those arguments.”
He told the audience: “I am not proposing that the UK considers rejoining the EU.
“I respect the decision that was made at the referendum, and it is going to undermine everything I have said about strengthening democracy if we don’t respect that vote.”
The Express is running a major crusade to Give Us A Proper Brexit, sounding the alarm that Westminster is trying to unpick the historic 2016 vote by stealth.
The Daily Express was the first national newspaper to demand Britain leave the EU, launching its campaign back in 2010.
Our crusade demands Britain quit the European Convention on Human Rights, slash red tape strangling business, and enforce a 12-mile fishing zone around our coast for British vessels only.
Andy Burnham was challenged by this paper (Image: Daily Express)
Alex Burghart MP, Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party, said: “You cannot trust a word Andy Burnham says.
“Just a few weeks ago, he said he wanted to move on from the Brexit arguments, and now he is dragging Britain back into them by floating the prospect of rejoining the EU.
“Labour cannot blame a democratic vote from over a decade ago for the consequences of their own economic decisions.”
Richard Tice, Deputy Leader of Reform UK, said: “Andy Burnham has barely been Prime Minister five minutes and he’s already trying to sneak us back into Brussels via the back door.
“He says Brexit has done more harm than good, but what’s done real harm is a Labour government that can’t deliver growth, can’t control migration, and now wants to outsource the job to Brussels.
“Reform UK will never let this betrayal go unchallenged.”