Burnham opens door to EU return

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said at Labour's conference that Britain could rejoin the EU and that the party's next manifesto might include an in-out referendum on the issue.

He could go all the way

Burnham acknowledged he could propose full EU rejoining as he considers the UK's future relationship with Brussels, saying it is possible Labour could include this in its next election manifesto.

A lifetime ambition

Before entering Downing Street, Burnham said he wanted to see the UK back in the EU within his lifetime. Asked on Sky News whether he stood by that, he said: I said in my lifetime and I've said that I'm not going to pull back from that.

“I said in my lifetime and I've said that I'm not going to pull back from that.”

Labour's reset with Brussels

Labour came to power in 2024 on a promise to reset relations with the EU. In 2025, the prime minister signed a wide-ranging deal with the bloc and Britain rejoined the Horizon science programme and agreed to join Erasmus+ for educational exchanges.

Sticking points remain

Negotiations continue over a youth mobility scheme allowing limited freedom of movement for young people. Labour's red lines include no return to the customs union, single market or freedom of movement, which conflict with EU demands.

The EU would welcome Britain back

Germany, France and Spain said the EU would welcome Britain back. French President Emmanuel Macron called it excellent news and a good decision, while Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Britain would be welcome with open arms.

“excellent news and a good decision”

But not on old terms

The UK would not be allowed to rejoin on the same terms it had before. Macron warned there would be no halfway house on membership requirements. The UK may have to join the Euro, join the Schengen passport-free zone, and would unlikely get the rebate Margaret Thatcher negotiated in 1984.

“no halfway house”

Public support is growing

Almost half of all UK voters support rejoining the European Union. A poll of eleven thousand four hundred sixty-one people by the Messina Group found forty-nine percent favoured rejoining, compared to twenty-eight point five percent against.

Electoral boost for Labour

The poll found that renegotiating the UK's relationship with the EU could boost Labour's vote share by as much as seven points, with most votes shifting from the Greens and Liberal Democrats for scenarios resulting in closer ties.

Other options also popular

Keeping the existing relationship but cutting trade barriers was favoured by forty-eight point two percent, while a customs union, called for by former Tory Chancellor George Osborne, was backed by forty-seven point one percent.