For nearly a decade, British governments have followed an unwritten rule: do not reopen the argument over Brexit. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has now broken it.
Marking 100 days in office on October 27, Burnham said Brexit has failed and called for a far closer relationship with the European Union, possibly including rejoining the 27 nation bloc. His words have revived one of the most divisive political debates in modern Britain, reported by Hurriyet Daily News.
“I am positive about closer ties with Europe and I’m not hiding that,” Burnham told The Sunday Times. He argued that a stronger European relationship would boost British economic growth and give the country better control over migration.
Burnham has called for an “evidence-based debate” on Brexit’s consequences. On immigration, he said leaving the EU had weakened Britain’s ability to manage unauthorized migration because the country no longer has access to key European databases and cooperation agreements.
“We’ve lost immigration control in the way that we once had,” he told ITV.
Most economists agree that Brexit has damaged the British economy, but politicians have largely avoided revisiting the issue. In 2016, voters chose to leave the EU by 52 percent to 48 percent after more than four decades of membership. Britain formally left in 2020 with a limited trade deal that created new barriers between British businesses and the EU’s 450 million consumers.
Burnham’s position is still constrained by the pledge made by his predecessor, Keir Starmer, not to rejoin the EU customs union or single market. But Burnham suggested that could change after the next general election, which must be held by 2029.
At Labour’s annual conference last month, he said Brexit had “done more harm than good” and promised to build political consensus around a new relationship with Europe.
For now, he has not promised reentry. But by naming the possibility aloud, Burnham has turned a long avoided question back into a live national debate.
