Burnham calls for closer EU ties, but offers few specifics

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham used his first day back after his party's conference on Monday to call for a closer relationship with the European Union and to draw a line under a decade of what he called “drift and division”. On Sunday he said it was “clear” the Kremlin had been involved in the 2016 Brexit referendum. Both positions break, at least rhetorically, with his predecessors, but his actual aims remain unclear.

From laughing stock to renewed cooperation

After the 2016 vote to leave the EU, Britain was widely seen in Brussels as an example 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 sought cooperation on security, food and fishing, but kept red lines: no return to the single market, no customs union and no freedom of movement.

Following his conference speech, Burnham suggested the UK could go “all the way” and promised to set out “different options” for the long-term relationship. He also acknowledged that Brexit had done “more harm than good”.

The options

A January 2025 YouGov poll found only 11% of people considered Brexit more of a success than a failure, and the Messina Group polling company reports that half of voters would like to rejoin the EU. Research estimates UK GDP per head is 6–8% lower a decade on than it would have been without Brexit. Rejoining would require another referendum, which would be politically fraught. A softer arrangement through the single market and customs union 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 power in France and Germany, and the “Made in Europe” agenda of protectionist laws could affect British exports.

What happens next

Burnham told the Commons that the planned UK-EU summit will go ahead in November. Talks are expected to cover a trade deal on food and drink, emissions trading, linking energy systems and a youth mobility scheme, all already discussed last year. The Guardian's Brussels correspondent Jennifer Rankin notes frustration in Brussels: the rhetoric is warmer, but the substance has stayed the same.