Burnham says Brexit status quo not good enough as EU leaders welcome rejoin talk

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has reopened the debate about Britain's relationship with the European Union, telling MPs that the current Brexit settlement is not good enough. In a Commons statement following his trip to the UN General Assembly, he said the UK's immediate priority was a successful UK-EU summit in Brussels on 20 November. After that, he argued, there should be a serious dialogue about different options for the long-term relationship.

He said: 'If we are serious about promoting growth, controlling immigration, upholding our values and security, it is a conversation we must have.' He added: 'Sticking with the status quo is not good enough for Britain.' Turning away would be a major dereliction of duty, he said, and the British public would be the boss at every stage.

Burnham has not ruled out another referendum or eventual rejoin. In interviews after Labour's conference, he said leaping into a referendum was not the right thing now but a future referendum was possible. He told ITV that referendums damage and divide households and communities. To Channel 4, he said he would not rule out a manifesto commitment to rejoin replacing a referendum. In different interviews he mentioned the customs union and the single market. For now, he says he will stick to Labour's red lines on the customs union, the single market and freedom of movement, but he did not rule out a future manifesto changing those red lines.

The 20 November summit was rescheduled from the summer after Keir Starmer was resigning. It is expected to cover areas such as sanitary and phytosanitary rules for animal products, emissions trading, food, energy and a youth experience scheme. Diplomats avoid the word mobility because it is politically difficult in the UK.

Nigel Farage responded aggressively. Speaking at Doncaster Racecourse, he challenged Burnham to a one-to-one debate on rejoining the EU and said: 'If Andy Burnham, the King of the North, wants a fight in Doncaster and the Red Wall with me on rejoining the European Union, then bring it on, I say.' Farage claimed Burnham had given him the biggest boost of his career. Doncaster voted about 70 per cent Leave 10 years ago. Farage launched a 100 days to save Britain tour and said he believed there would be a general election next year, despite Burnham saying he had not won until 2029.

Farage has had a difficult period, including a donation controversy, a Channel 4 investigation, a police inquiry and a standards commissioner investigation into a 5 million pound donation from Christopher Harborne. Polls have shown Reform dipping, sometimes neck and neck with Labour and sometimes behind. Reform had largely stopped talking about Brexit before Burnham's intervention. Farage argued that leaving the EU had not damaged business overall, that the UK had signed 70 new trade agreements and that services exports to the EU were up over 25 per cent since leaving. He also said the UK had total control over immigration and that rejoining would not help.

Within Labour, the move has caused unease. Red Wall MPs have warned it does not go down well on the doorstep and that voters do not want the old dividing lines reopened. Cabinet splits have been reported. Number 10 has said it believes the Brexit referendum was legitimate after Burnham discussed Russian interference. Polling suggests 59 per cent of people favour rejoining the EU, and over 70 per cent of 2024 Green and Liberal Democrat voters would vote rejoin. But Brexit remains a low-salience issue compared with immigration, the cost of living, healthcare, law and order and defence. Burnham is seen as trying to win back voters who have drifted to the Liberal Democrats and Greens. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey welcomed the shift as a turning point. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Burnham was unpicking the deal the country signed with the EU.

Emily Thornberry, a Labour MP, said most people in Britain knew leaving the EU was a mistake and that putting rejoining in the next Labour manifesto would be 'quite sensible'. She accepted that free movement would be part of the conversation but said the terms would need discussion.

EU leaders in Brussels largely welcomed the prospect of Britain moving closer. One said: 'If Britain is ready to come back, we're ready to welcome them.' Another said Britain should come back to the family and claimed the referendum was orchestrated and helped by Russian activity. A third said the UK must learn its lesson if it returns, while describing the UK as one of the strongest pillars of European security. One leader called Britain leaving the EU one of the biggest catastrophes in the EU's history, while saying the final decision was for the British people.

Burnham's language has landed internationally, with finance ministers and the IMF managing director joking that Britain was flirting with the EU. But the substance remains uncertain. The November summit will test whether short-term deals can be agreed, and whether they lead to a deeper argument about rejoin. The political risk at home is clear, and both Labour and the Conservatives are wary of reopening the Brexit divide.