Prime Minister Andy Burnham has opened the possibility that his Labour government could seek Britain’s return to the European Union, a shift that could put full membership alongside closer economic ties with the bloc on the political agenda.
Speaking at Labour’s annual conference on Tuesday, Burnham said Britain’s departure from the EU in 2020 had done “more harm than good” and led to “a decade of low growth”. He told BBC radio on Wednesday that his government could go “all the way” by proposing membership of the bloc.
His remarks followed his arrival in Downing Street in July, after Labour MPs removed Keir Starmer. They also come before a planned summit with the 27-member bloc later this year, when the government intends to outline its approach to relations with Europe.
Burnham said the government would set out “different options” closer to that meeting. Those options could include joining the European single market and customs union, as well as retaining the current arrangement.
“We could stay as we are. That's definitely an option, if people think this is the right place to stay,” Burnham said.
Britain voted to leave the EU in a 2016 referendum. Burnham’s comments leave unresolved whether his government will formally seek membership, choose a closer trading arrangement, or retain existing ties.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron responded positively during a visit to Madrid, where he met Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday. Speaking in English, Macron declared: “Welcome back”.
Macron said: “If the British want to come back and if the prime minister is moving in that direction, I think that is very good news both for his country and for Europeans”.
He also set out a condition for any return to full membership. “You cannot choose between the freedoms of the union and decide to take what suits us and not the rest,” Macron said.
Sanchez described the result of the 2016 referendum as “a huge loss, both for the British population and for the whole European project”. He said Spain would support a British bid to return.
“If the UK tries to rejoin the EU, then of course Spain would applaud it and open its arms again to a brotherly people,” Sanchez said.
The European Commission adopted a more measured position. Its spokesperson, Balazs Ujvari, said: “The UK is a close and valued partner of the European Union”.
“We remain open to engaging on the options it may put forward,” Ujvari said.
The responses from Paris and Madrid offer Burnham early encouragement as he prepares options for the summit. The position of other EU member states remains unknown, as do the terms that could apply to membership or other forms of closer alignment.
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