Burnham says UK might rejoin EU after next general election as he will consider ‘going all the way’

He said Brexit caused ‘more harm than good’

Burnham said that the option to rejoin the EU is one of the steps that his government could examine to reshape Britain’s relations with Europe.

Speaking to the BBC, the prime minister said that “more harm than good” was caused by the current Brexit settlement.

In order to repair the long-term relationship with Europe, the PM said he wanted to look at “what is doable”.

Burnham delivering his speech at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool. Credit: Getty Images

Burnham’s comments come amid the pledges he made in his Labour conference speech on Tuesday (29 September), to explore closer ties with the EU this year at a delayed summit.

The departure from office of Burnham’s predecessor, Keir Starmer, delayed a summer summit with the EU until later this year.

Burnham blamed Brexit for a loss of control over both immigration and the economy in his conference speech, as he told delegates he did not believe the current relationship was
“good enough”.

Among other things, Burnham has announced big plans for Labour's re-election, saying the party will run on a manifesto to change the electoral system for the next general election.

The PM also announced reform from 2030 on triple lock pensions, adding that by making a change to state pensions he will fund his planned National Care Service in the next parliament.

The division that returning to EU could case following Burnham’s comments

At the next general election, the move could set up a huge dividing line.

The Conservatives have accused Burnham of trying to “reopen old wounds by restarting the battles of the Brexit years”.

The PM left the door open to campaigning at the next general election for a mandate to rejoin the bloc last week.

It appears that the PM could make a decisive break from Labour's 2024 election manifesto, which pledged to “make Brexit work” as it ruled out rejoining either its customs union or single market.

As he spoke to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Burnham said he did not want to leave the question of the EU relationship “hanging” and he wanted to be clear on "where we want Britain to go in the next decade".

Asked whether he wanted the UK to rejoin the EU, he replied that he wanted to "look at the options”.

“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.