Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said Britain should consider options for its future relationship with the European Union, including rejoining the bloc, doubling down on his message that Brexit had “done more harm than good”, reported Reuters.
According to BBC, the PM Burnham on September 30 said it is “possible” a future Labour election manifesto could promise a new in-out referendum on the EU.
It comes after he pledged in his Labour conference speech on September 29 to explore closer ties with the bloc at a summit later this year.
The comments received a mixed reception from French President Emmanuel Macron. While he said it would be “very good news” if the UK rejoined, he bristled at the idea that any reset of relations could include it being able to “pick and choose” which parts of membership it wanted, reported Reuters At his Labour Party’s annual conference, Burnham said Britain’s departure from the bloc had failed to fulfil its supporters’ pledge of “taking back control”, and instead had made the nation weaker, especially on the economy and on dealing with high levels of immigration.
S p e a k i n g to the BBC, B u r n h a m again said Britain should consider options for a future relationship, including not only full membership but also rejoining the EU’s single market and/or a customs union — reigniting a divisive debate that has split the country for the last 10 years.
“We could stay as we are. That’s definitely an option, if people think this is the right place to stay,” Burnham said, listing other possibilities including one to “go all the way”. In interviews on September 30, he suggested any decision on a future referendum was a long way off, saying his conference speech was based on crafting a 10-year plan for the nation.
“I think we’d have to see where the options fell out … and then, depending on what people seem to be pointing towards, what we then do,” he said. Pushed on whether an inout referendum could be in a future election manifesto, he added: “Things are possible.”
Macron was quick to warn Burnham that there was no halfway house on membership, a reminder of the years-long dispute between London and Brussels which shaped the current postBrexit relationship.
