Andy Burnham, the seventh UK prime minister in a decade of political instability since the 2016 Brexit referendum, is largely unknown in continental Europe. His priorities are domestic: devolving powers to regions, extending state control of industries. He may initially spend less time on diplomacy than predecessor Keir Starmer, whom critics called 'never here Keir' for his frequent foreign travel.
Starmer's Legacy and Burnham's Path
Starmer had begun restoring trust between Brussels and London after the Boris Johnson era, but was cautious on EU ties to avoid angering Labour leave voters. The Treasury was loath to pay to play in Europe. Starmer co-led, with French President Emmanuel Macron, the 'coalition of the willing' on Ukraine security guarantees and a group ensuring safe passage in the Strait of Hormuz. Burnham is likely to maintain that role, keeping the UK as an important player in European security.
Economic Imperatives for Closer Ties
Like other domestically focused politicians, Burnham will soon realise the UK's economic stagnation and declining living standards are partly due to Brexit's damping effects on trade and investment. Closer engagement with the EU, the UK's main export market, would be a no-brainer for healthier growth. As a new face, Burnham has an opportunity to review Labour's red lines on EU relations – no single market, no customs union, no freedom of movement – and pursue a more ambitious opening.
Burnham will find European governments receptive on defence and security cooperation, and increasingly willing to welcome the UK inside its 'made in Europe' drive for greater sovereignty over key technologies. But they remain wary of UK attempts to cherrypick benefits without responsibilities like paying for market access and allowing free movement, as Norway and Switzerland do.
Aligning Agendas
Joël Reland of the UK in a Changing Europe thinktank noted Burnham may sound less pro-European than Starmer, 'but is formulating an economic and security agenda which could bring London into closer line with Brussels.' Reland highlights the similarity between Burnham's ambition for 'sovereign capabilities' in industrial sectors and EU plans for 'strategic autonomy' – reducing reliance on foreign suppliers.
Burnham faces political and social challenges familiar to his continental peers: a surge of national populism, backlash against immigration, anger over cost of living and poor public services. With populists like Marine Le Pen in France and Alice Weidel in Germany rattling at the gates of power, the new Labour premier has an interest in linking arms with pro-European liberal democratic forces.
Geopolitical and Domestic Case
The geopolitical case is compelling: Putin waging hybrid war against Europe, Trump seeking to disengage the US, Xi Jinping flexing China's muscles. Building closer ties with Europe, starting with security and defence, also makes sense in UK politics. Labour has been bleeding pro-European voters to the Liberal Democrats and Greens, and working-class Brexit voters to Reform. Burnham can start to reverse those losses if he proclaims Labour as the practical pro-European force that can deliver benefits of closer EU relations without being hamstrung by decade-old taboos.
There are indications Burnham gets this. He needs to link kickstarting the economy with closer European cooperation, perhaps through defence industrial cooperation or an ambitious youth experience programme without quotas or prohibitive tuition fees, offering reciprocal opportunities for young Britons to study and work in Europe. Temporary visas for European students and apprentices might raise immigration numbers but would benefit the UK economy and scientific achievement.
Burnham may feel a departure from Labour's red lines needs a national democratic mandate at the next election, but he should start making the case now for why the UK would be better off in the single market, in preparation for the party's next manifesto.
