Burnham Says Rejoining EU Is on the Table as He Signals Break With Labour's Brexit Manifesto

Andy Burnham has indicated that returning the UK to the European Union is one of the possibilities the government could explore as it seeks to recast Britain's long-term relationship with the bloc.

In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, the prime minister said the existing Brexit arrangement had done "more harm than good" and that he was determined to examine "what is doable" to mend ties with Brussels.

His remarks follow a pledge made during his Labour conference speech on Tuesday, in which he promised to pursue closer links with the EU at a summit that has been pushed back to later this year. The commitment has the potential to become a major fault line at the next general election, with the Conservatives accusing him of attempting to "reopen old wounds by restarting the battles of the Brexit years".

The prime minister's comments represent the strongest hint yet that he could depart decisively from the party's 2024 election manifesto. That document committed Labour to "make Brexit work" while explicitly excluding any return to the EU's customs union or single market.

Burnham's position has shifted noticeably in recent weeks. Last week, he declined to rule out campaigning at the next election for a mandate to rejoin the EU. During the Makerfield by-election, the contest that secured his return to Parliament, he had pledged not to "re-run" the arguments of the Brexit era and insisted he was "not proposing that the UK considers rejoining the EU".

Speaking on the Today programme, Burnham said he did not want to leave the question of the EU relationship unresolved. He argued that the country needed clarity on "where we want Britain to go in the next decade". Pressed on whether he favoured rejoining the bloc, he said he wanted to "look at the options", noting that he had previously supported such a move within his lifetime while conceding that this was "not necessarily the case that that is now".

He set out a range of paths that could be studied, telling the programme: "We could stay as we are. That's definitely an option, if people think this is the right place to stay. We could look at what 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." He added that the choices on the table carried distinct advantages and drawbacks, and that the government had to assess "what is doable".

The reference to the former chancellor George Osborne reflects a growing cross-party debate about interim arrangements short of full membership, while the Liberal Democrats have recently advocated a return to the single market. Burnham's phrase "go all the way" is being interpreted as a nod toward full EU membership, though he stopped short of endorsing it outright.

In his conference address on Tuesday, Burnham placed the blame for what he described as a loss of control over immigration and the economy squarely on Brexit. He told delegates that the present relationship with Europe was not "good enough". He said he wanted to use the rescheduled summit to set out "different options" for the UK's long-term relationship with the continent, and promised to "find consensus" around one of them, without explaining how that consensus would be measured or tested.

The delay to the summit stems from the departure from office of his predecessor, Sir Keir Starmer. Sir Keir had pursued a more limited reset with the EU, focusing on aligning with European food standards, securing a youth visa deal and relinking British industry to the EU's carbon trading regime. The summer gathering was postponed until later this year, and Burnham has said he also wants to publish a ten-year plan to transform the UK economy at around the same time.

The political reaction has been swift. Conservative deputy leader Alex Burghart said Labour could not "pin the blame for their disastrous economic decisions on a vote that happened over a decade ago", adding that the party was already "dragging us into the European Union via the back door with their EU reset".

The debate carries significant electoral implications. Any move toward rejoining the EU or its institutions would reopen one of the most divisive questions in modern British politics, and would likely dominate the next general election campaign. It would also test the durability of the governing party's coalition, given that the 2024 manifesto explicitly ruled out both the customs union and the single market.

For now, Burnham appears to be keeping his options deliberately broad, framing the question as one of long-term national strategy rather than immediate policy. But by naming full membership alongside customs union and single market arrangements as possibilities worth weighing, he has signalled that the settled orthodoxy of the post-Brexit years may be up for revision.