Brexit referendum 2.0: Why a second EU poll just got more likely

The UK could negotiate a deal to rejoin the EU before holding another referendum on membership, sources have indicated. Andy Burnham is reported to be considering an attempt to strike a deal with Brussels before then putting it to British voters, as he plots moving the UK closer to the EU . Crucially, the EU could be open to negotiating a deal on these terms, despite concerns that this could amount to a waste of time if voters then reject any terms of re-entry, one source said.

An EU source said that it is up for Britain to decide its own process for rejoining and so Brussels “could” or “should” accept it. But they also acknowledged the “political reality: would we be ready to go through everything knowing that there is a very realistic possibility that it would be for nothing?” The source added, however: “I don’t really see any other option and it would not be dissimilar to what happens with other countries wanting to join.”

Negotiations would be in Labour manifesto The Prime Minister is said to be considering a plan to obtain a mandate to begin negotiations for UK re-entry in the next Labour manifesto, before holding a confirmatory referendum that would give voters the final say if Labour were to win the next election and successfully negotiate a deal, according to The Guardian . A No 10 source said this was “speculative” and that Burnham was not yet at that stage in his thinking on the UK-EU relationship.

He was instead focusing on a planned speech later this month at which he will frame the options open to Britain to move closer to Brussels. However, the source did not rule out the option, which is understood to be favoured by some prominent pro-EU figures in Burnham’s orbit. Meanwhile, UK and EU negotiators are concluding the delicate final stage of talks on a Brexit reset deal to be signed off at a summit in Brussels on 20 November. The package will include deals on food and drink trade, linking carbon markets, and youth mobility – making it easier for under-30s to travel between and live in Britain and the EU.

Negotiations remain fraught over an EU demand for the UK to lower tuition fees for European students in Britain, with The i Paper reporting last week that it could hold up the Government’s reset deals. Longer-term options Around the time of the summit, Burnham is also expected to outline longer-term options for moving closer to the EU, having previously said Brexit has done “more harm than good” to the UK. On Monday, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said that the British public would have a role in approving whatever option Burnham decides to choose.

He said: “The Prime Minister is clear that we do need to settle our long-term relationship with Europe, and around the time of the summit, he’ll set out options for what that relationship could look like. “The public deserves an honest account and an open conversation about the country’s future. “The Prime Minister is not assuming any particular outcome, as he said previously. The country needs to know where it’s going.”