Andy Burnham weighs rejoining EU as long term option

The prime minister told party members that Brexit caused harm and pledged to review customs and market arrangements.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham put rejoining the European Union on the table as an option for his government, breaking with years of official Labour policy to explore closer ties with the bloc.¹²

Speaking to party members at the Labour annual conference in Liverpool, Burnham declared that the post-Brexit trade settlement negotiated by the Conservatives had produced more harm than good.¹² He told delegates that the current arrangement was not good enough, arguing that leaving the European bloc had resulted in lost control over immigration and the British economy.²

Burnham expanded on his thinking during a broadcast interview the following morning, outlining a spectrum of potential paths for the United Kingdom.¹³ “We could look at what [former 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,” Burnham said.¹²

He added that retaining the status quo was also on the table if the electorate preferred it.³² “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,” Burnham said, adding that he aimed to find consensus on an option to clarify the country’s long-term position.³¹

The statements mark a distinct shift from the strategy pursued by former Prime Minister Keir Starmer.¹² During his leadership, Labour fought the 2024 general election on a manifesto promise to make Brexit work while ruling out any return to the single market or the customs union.²¹ Starmer had sought more modest adjustments with Brussels, including mutual recognition of food standards, a youth mobility agreement, and linking British industry back into the European carbon emissions trading system.²

Burnham had previously taken a cautious approach when returning to national politics.² During his campaign in the Makerfield by-election, he pledged not to re-run the debates of the Brexit referendum and said he was not proposing that the country consider rejoining the bloc.² A rescheduled summit between British and European officials later this year is scheduled to serve as the platform where Burnham plans to detail options alongside a 10-year economic strategy.²¹

European officials indicated that the decision rests squarely with London.² Jukka Salovaara, the European Union ambassador to the United Kingdom, said the doors remained open, but noted that it was up to the British public to decide its ambition for deeper cooperation.²

Domestic political rivals immediately attacked the prime minister’s comments. Conservative Deputy Leader Alex Burghart accused Burnham of dragging the country back into historical disputes after previously claiming he wanted to move past them.¹² Burghart argued that the government was attempting to blame current economic difficulties on a referendum conducted a decade ago.²

Reform UK Deputy Leader Richard Tice accused the prime minister of attempting to sneak Britain back into European institutions through regulatory alignment.² Tice claimed that the administration was seeking to outsource governance to Brussels because of difficulties in delivering domestic growth and controlling migration.² Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, has been running neck-and-neck with Labour in national opinion polling.⁴

Other political parties urged the government to move faster. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said his party had already published concrete plans to enter the single market and a customs union to support defence and reduce taxes, calling on Burnham to abandon indecision and open formal talks.² Al Pinkerton, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson on European affairs, cautioned that European partners would treat Britain as a fresh applicant rather than restoring previous terms.²

Green Party leader Zack Polanski said leaving the bloc had weakened the national economy and argued that full membership represented the most effective long-term settlement. Burnham acknowledged that while he had previously supported rejoining the bloc within his lifetime, full accession was not necessarily an immediate prospect.²

What this rests on

23 sentences trace to 4 sources.

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1. 1 P POLITICO Third-party reporting · politico.eu · 30 Sep 2026 UK’s Burnham says he’ll consider push to rejoin EU See the source
2. 2 BN BBC News Third-party reporting · bbc.com · 30 Sep 2026 Move to rejoin EU among options for UK, says Andy Burnham See the source
3. 3 B bbc.com Third-party reporting · bbc.com Andy Burnham says UK could go 'all the way' towards rejoining EU See the source
4. 4 PR Prashant Rao Document · semafor.com · 30 Sep 2026 UK PM Andy Burnham floats possibility of rejoining EU See the source