Burnham calls for closer EU ties but keeps the details vague
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has called for a closer relationship with the European Union but has offered no concrete plan. A UK-EU summit is due in November, covering topics already discussed previously.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Monday, his first day back after his party's conference, called for a closer relationship with the European Union and for an end to a decade of "drift and division". On Sunday he said it was "clear" the Kremlin had been involved in the 2016 Brexit referendum. Both statements break, at least in tone, from his predecessors, yet Burnham has so far given few specifics.
From laughing stock to thaw
After the vote to leave the EU, Britain was widely seen in Brussels as a model of how not to run a country. Attitudes softened after the Withdrawal Agreement Act in early 2020 and the 2023 Windsor framework, which amended the Northern Ireland protocol. Keir Starmer's government cooperated with the EU on security, food and fishing, but kept firm red lines: no rejoining the single market, no customs union and no freedom of movement.
Following his conference speech, Burnham hinted the UK could go "all the way" and promised to set out different options for the long-term relationship. He also acknowledged Brexit had caused more harm than good. A January 2025 YouGov poll found only 11% of people considered Brexit more of a success than a failure, and research estimates UK GDP per head is 6–8% lower than it would have been without it.
The options
Rejoining the EU would need another referendum, which would be politically fraught. Even the Liberal Democrats, the most pro-EU major party, describe membership as a long-term goal. Rejoining the single market would breach Labour's red lines, which Burnham says he will keep.
The EU has also changed since the referendum: far-right parties are gaining ground, and the protectionist "Made in Europe" agenda could affect UK exports.
What next
Burnham confirmed a UK-EU summit will go ahead in November. Negotiators are expected to discuss a food and drink trade deal, emissions trading, linking energy systems and a youth mobility scheme, all topics raised at last year's talks. The Guardian's Brussels correspondent says there is frustration in the EU that London talks of a reset without changing much.
