Britain · updated 2h ago · 3 min read
Andy Burnham Says Brexit Settlement Caused More Harm Than Good, Opens Door To Rejoining EU
Brexit has done more harm than good; Burnham will present long-term UK-EU relationship options. Rejoining the EU is one option among others for future UK-EU ties.
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Burnham weighs EU options
Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the BBC that the current Brexit settlement had caused "more harm than good" and he wanted to look at "what is doable" to reshape the UK's long-term relationship with Europe. Burnham said he wanted to use a delayed summit later this year to explore closer ties with the bloc, and he told the BBC he wanted to be clear on "where we want Britain to go in the next decade". Burnham told the BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he did not want the EU relationship question "hanging" and he said he wanted to be clear on "where we want Britain to go in the next decade".
Burnham said the government could consider a status quo option, a customs union, the single market, or "go all the way" to reintegrate with the EU. Burnham also said he wanted to publish a 10-year plan to transform the UK economy at the time of the rescheduled summit later this year.
Opposition and party lines
Conservatives accused Burnham of trying to "reopen old wounds by restarting the battles of the Brexit years," and Tory deputy leader Alex Burghart said: "Labour cannot pin the blame for their disastrous economic decisions on a vote that happened over a decade ago."
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said his party had put forward "concrete plans to boost our economy, strengthen our defences and cut people's taxes by joining the single market and a customs union" and he added: "Talk is cheap. Burnham must stop with all the 'maybes' and get negotiating that better deal for Britain today."
Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice accused Burnham of "trying to sneak us back into Brussels via the back door" and said Reform would "never let this betrayal go unchallenged".
Al Pinkerton, the party's Europe spokesperson, said there is "no rejoin on the table" and added Britain would effectively be treated as a "fresh entrant state" if it wished to join the bloc again.
Burnham told delegates at the Labour Party conference that he blamed Brexit for a loss of control over both immigration and the economy, and he said he did not believe the current relationship was "good enough".
What the summit could decide
The EU's ambassador to the UK, Jukka Salovaara, said last week: "The doors are open but it's very much up to the UK public to identify and decide on its level of ambition when it comes to deepening cooperation with the EU." The Labour Party came to power in 2024 with an agenda centered on closer ties with the European Union but with three red lines, no return to the customs union, no return to the single market, and no reintroduction of freedom of movement. Burnham said he wanted to present "different options" for the long-term relations with the EU at a summit planned by the end of the year, and he told the BBC he wanted to assess what was feasible as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each.
The sources also described that a previous EU–UK summit in London in May 2025 was organized by Keir Starmer, and they said the resignation of Keir Starmer delayed a summer summit with the EU until later this year. The BBC said Burnham wanted to use the rescheduled summit later this year to lay out "different options" for the UK's long-term relationship with Europe and to find consensus on an option to clarify the UK's position.