U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has put the idea of the U.K. rejoining the European Union back on the table for the Labour Party.
Burnham, who took the helm of the Labour Party in July from former Prime Minister Keir Starmer, differs from Starmer on Brexit. The former prime minister had ruled out the option of returning to the EU under his tenure. Burnham had previously refused to rule out returning to the EU, but went further on Wednesday, adding, in an interview with the BBC, that it is one of several options that “need to be considered.”
“We could stay as we are, that’s definitely an option if people think this is the right place to stay,” Burnham said.
“We could look at what George Osborne has said about a customs union. We could look at what the Liberal Democrats said at their conference about a single market. Or we could go all the way,” he continued, referring to a full return to the EU.
The British prime minister told the outlet that “it’s not good enough to leave that question just hanging” and said he would aim to set the United Kingdom on a clearer path under his tenure.
“I am very clear, and I will say this bluntly: Brexit has caused more harm than good, and I think around 60% of the British public agree with that statement,” Burnham said. “So the question is, what do we do about that?”
Burnham has aligned himself with many Western European powers on policies such as support for Ukraine in its war with Russia and has settled into a closer relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump during the start of his time as prime minister.
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During his speech before the U.N. General Assembly, Burnham told the room that, under his watch, Britain is “going to be much prouder in standing up for our values and the rule of law.”
“Over the last decade, we have given too much ground to those who want to run a negative, corrosive narrative about life in Britain, which bears no resemblance to reality,” Burnham said. “Well, no more. We are going to face the new decade in a different way, with our eyes wide open.”
