Is Andy Burnham Playing With Fire Over Brexit?

Andy Burnham could not have been clearer during his campaign to become the MP for Makerfield in the summer.

“Brexit has been damaging, but the last thing we need right now is to re-run those arguments,” he said.

“I respect the [Brexit] vote and am not suggesting rejoining the EU.”

And yet here we are, less than six months later, with the prospect of the UK going back into the European Union a live one at Westminster.

It should be noted, of course, that Burnham’s comments back in May were driven by the politics of the situation he found himself in.

He was running in a seat which voted comprehensively for Brexit in the 2016 referendum and had just returned a host of Reform UK councillors in the local elections.

As soon as he was safely in No.10, however, the new prime minister reverted to the Andy Burnham who said in 2025 that he would like to see the UK rejoin the EU in his lifetime.

Later this month, he will attend a special UK-EU summit where he hopes to “reset” the Brexit deal agreed by Boris Johnson’s government, which he says has done “more harm than good” to the country.

Border checks on food and agricultural products will be removed after the UK agreed to align itself with Brussels rules.

Agreement on a youth mobility scheme and emissions trading will also be reached as part of the deal, which Burnham says could grow the UK economy by 0.4%.

“I think people in Britain would expect me to take that with both hands, given where we’ve been in recent times, and that’s what I’m doing,” the PM said while attending a Commonwealth summit in Antigua this week.

“We’re not in the EU, therefore, we do have to work with them in a different way.

“But if that can get growth, if that can help our farmers, if that can remove red tape from British businesses, I think most people would expect me to go to that summit and negotiate the best deal that I can.”

The PM has been clear, however, that he wants to go much further in the future.

This could see the UK rejoin the EU’s single market, the customs union, sign up to freedom of movement again, and even reverse Brexit altogether.

Addressing Labour’s annual conference in September, Burnham said: “There are different options. I will see if we can find consensus around one, which will give us clarity about our position and the future of the continent that we live in.”

The PM’s Euro-enthusiasm does not come without huge political risks, however, not least the prospect of causing a huge split among Labour MPs and even his own cabinet.

One senior minister told HuffPost UK: “We need to move the dial on economic growth and so he’s correct to identify that trade with our nearest partner needs to become easier.

“I think most Labour MPs will say that if you can get a better relationship with the EU, that’s a good thing. Everyone knows the various inconveniences that have happened as a result of Brexit.

“But if we get to a point where there is big institutional change, such as rejoining the EU, then I think a lot of MPs, and some cabinet ministers, would say I can go this far, but no further.”

A Labour source said Burnham has “opened up a Pandora’s Box without thinking about what might come out of it”.

“The idea that the negotiation he wants to have on closer ties with the EU will be straightforward and quick is not realistic,” he said. “You only have to look at what happened after the referendum to know that.

“Of course a lot of businesses will want easier trading links with Europe, but the one thing business hates above everything else is uncertainty. Lots of them will have spent a lot of time and money adjusting to the post-Brexit landscape, and now all of a sudden they’re being told we might be going back in.

“The other thing to bear in mind is that the UK would become a net contributor to the EU if we rejoined. There would be no rebate like we had before.

“The EU will know exactly what they want from any negotiation on membership, so the government need to know what they want out of it as well.”

Chris Hopkins, political research director at pollsters Savanta, said reopening the Brexit debate puts at risk the boost in popularity Labour has enjoyed since Burnham became prime minister.

He told HuffPost UK: “Brexit created one of the sharpest dividing lines UK politics has seen in recent decades, and even discussing it feels risky for Andy Burnham.

“Labour’s electoral coalition remains fragile, and reopening old wounds has the potential to alienate voters in Leave-favouring seats that Labour won back under Keir Starmer in 2024.

“Polling suggests that Britain would vote to rejoin the EU if a second referendum were held tomorrow, and some may take that to mean Burnham’s push for closer EU ties would be welcomed by a majority of the public.

“However, many voters see the Brexit debate as a thing of the past, and the electorate may be looking for leaders who focus forward rather than backwards, and who move on from blaming the past for difficulties in tackling the issues Britain faces in 2026.”

But Tom Brufatto, policy and research Director at campaign group Best for Britain, said rejoining the EU “would deliver seismic economic growth both here in the UK and for our longstanding friends and neighbours in Europe”.

“After a decade of stagnant growth and living standards, EU membership is the single best opportunity to improve our economies, strengthen security in the face of global threats and rebuild our relationship with the world’s largest trading bloc.

“The upcoming summit is a chance for the prime minister to deliver the future voters have made patently clear they want – leadership that will set the UK on a path back to Europe.”

From insisting he did not want to rerun the Brexit debate in May to openly flirting with the idea of rejoining the EU in November, Andy Burnham has certainly been on a journey.

It remains to be seen, however, whether his own MPs and the public will want to go with him when the reality of what overturning the 2016 referendum looks like becomes clear.

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