Burnham Opens Door to EU Rejoin Bid as He Warns Brexit Has Done 'More Harm Than Good'

Andy Burnham has signalled that rejoining the European Union could form part of the government's long-term thinking on Britain's relationship with Brussels, in comments that mark his most explicit departure yet from Labour's existing Brexit position.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, the prime minister said the current post-Brexit arrangement had delivered "more harm than good" and that he was determined not to leave the question of the UK's European future unresolved. He indicated he wanted to establish clarity on "where we want Britain to go in the next decade", rather than allowing the issue to drift indefinitely.

Pressed on whether he personally favoured EU membership, Burnham stopped short of a direct commitment. Instead, he said he wanted to "look at the options" available, conceding that remaining outside the bloc was itself a legitimate choice if voters believed the status quo was the right destination.

The prime minister set out a spectrum of possibilities that could be examined, referencing proposals floated by former chancellor George Osborne on customs union membership and the Liberal Democrats' conference pitch on joining the single market. He added that going "all the way" — a clear reference to full EU membership — was also on the table.

"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," he told the programme. He also noted that he had advocated rejoining within his lifetime in the past, while acknowledging that circumstances may since have changed.

The intervention builds on his keynote address to the Labour conference on Tuesday, in which he pledged to explore closer ties with the bloc at a delayed summit later this year. That gathering was postponed from the summer following Sir Keir Starmer's departure from office, and Burnham has said he intends to use it to publish a ten-year plan for transforming the UK economy.

In his conference speech, Burnham laid blame for the loss of control over both immigration and the economy at Brexit's door, telling delegates the present relationship with Europe was not "good enough". He promised to "find consensus" around a preferred option for the UK's long-term relationship with the continent, though he did not spell out how that consensus would be measured or verified.

His remarks carry significant political weight because they appear to break with the manifesto on which Labour fought the 2024 general election, which committed the party to "make Brexit work" while explicitly ruling out rejoining the customs union or the single market. Sir Keir had pursued a narrower reset instead, encompassing alignment with EU food standards, a youth visa scheme and reconnecting British industry to the bloc's carbon trading regime.

The shift is all the more notable given Burnham's recent electoral history. During the Makerfield by-election that returned him to Parliament, he committed not to "re-run" the Brexit arguments of the past and stated plainly that he was "not proposing that the UK considers rejoining the EU". He also declined to rule out campaigning at the next general election for an explicit mandate to rejoin.

Opposition figures seized on the comments. Conservative deputy leader Alex Burghart accused Labour of attempting to blame its own economic record on a vote held more than a decade ago, and claimed the government was already pulling Britain toward the EU "via the back door" through its reset agenda. He framed the rejoin question as a return to "old wounds" and "the battles of the Brexit years".

The debate now appears poised to become a defining dividing line at the next election, with rejoining supporters pointing to the Liberal Democrats' recent promise of tax cuts for millions if the UK enters the single market. Burnham's team has also attracted attention for his pledge to end the existing pension triple lock in 2030 to help fund social care, a separate controversy that has dominated domestic coverage of the conference.

For now, the prime minister has offered no timetable and no preferred model, leaving open whether his long-term ambition is customs union membership, single market access, full membership or simply a deeper cooperative arrangement. What is clear is that the question of Europe, largely frozen in British politics since 2020, is being thawed from the top of government — and that the answer may not be settled until voters are asked directly.