Andy Burnham has hinted he could "go all the way" and propose rejoining the EU after saying Brexit has been a disaster. The Prime Minister said he would look at the pros and cons as he continues to rebuild relations with Europe.
During his speech at the Labour Party conference, he said leaving the EU had done "more harm than good". Mr Burnham is set to hold a summit with the EU later this year to set out future relations.
Options on the table
The PM told the BBC he did not want to leave the issue "hanging" and vowed to set out some options. Crucially, these could include rejoining, more than a decade after the referendum to leave.
Asked whether he wanted the UK to go back into the EU, he told the Today programme he wanted to "look at the options". He said: "We could stay as we are. That's definitely an option, if people think this is the right place to stay. We could look at what (former Conservative chancellor) George Osborne has said about a customs union, we could look at what the Liberal Democrats said at their conference about the single market or we could go all the way."
Labour's election manifesto in 2024 ruled out joining a customs union, going back into the single market or allowing the return of freedom of movement with the EU. But Mr Burnham has now indicated he is prepared to recommend going beyond those red lines in future.
Conference remarks
He said: "There are clearly options that need to be considered, and we have to look at what is doable and what would be the pros and cons of each."
During his conference speech on Tuesday, Mr Burnham stated: "Brexit hasn't given us control. We've lost some of the control we had over our economy, as a decade of low growth has put us in a weaker position. And we've lost some of our control over immigration."
Cabinet response
Cabinet minister Heidi Alexander said "no-one wants to go back to the toxicity and divisions" of the Brexit debate, but said addressing the question was crucial. At a Politico fringe event in Liverpool, the Transport Secretary said: "I think he's right to say we need to set out the options. But he was also pretty clear at saying we need to develop some consensus around this. No-one wants to go back to the toxicity and the divisions of previous Brexit debates."
