Burnham says UK should weigh post-Brexit EU options, including rejoining

By Elizabeth Piper and Sam Tabahriti

LONDON, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Wednesday Britain should consider options for its future relationship with the European Union, including rejoining the bloc, doubling down on his message that Brexit had "done more harm than good".

The comments received a mixed reception from French President Emmanuel Macron. While it would be "very good news" if the UK rejoined, he bristled at the idea that any reset of relations could include the UK being able to "pick and choose" which parts of membership it wanted.

At his Labour Party's annual conference on Tuesday, Burnham, who campaigned to stay in the EU in a 2016 referendum on membership, argued the nation should again consider options for "Britain's long-term relationship with our European partners".

He said Britain's departure from the bloc had failed to fulfil its supporters' pledge of "taking back control", and instead had made the nation weaker, especially on the economy and on dealing with high levels of immigration.

BRITAIN COULD 'GO ALL THE WAY'

Speaking to the BBC, Burnham again said Britain should consider several options for a future relationship, including not only full membership but also rejoining the EU's single market or a customs union — reigniting a divisive debate that has split the country for the last 10 years.

"We could stay as we are. That's definitely an option, if people think this is the right place to stay," Burnham said, listing other possibilities including one to "go all the way".

Speaking in Madrid, France's Macron warned Burnham that there was no halfway house on membership, a reminder of the years-long dispute between London and Brussels which shaped the current post-Brexit relationship.

"As for Great Britain, when it wants to re-engage with us, being on the outside poses a problem: you cannot pick and choose among the Union's freedoms, nor can you decide to take only what suits you while rejecting the rest," Macron said.

Britons are mostly in favour of rejoining — polling by YouGov in June showed 55% of voters supported it and 34% opposed it.

"I voted 'out' because I thought it would be better, but no, it's not really," said Gary Knowles, a 64-year-old cleaner and hairdresser in Barking, east London. Citing rising food and petrol prices, he said his view had now reversed: "I reckon 'In'."

However, support seen in polling often drops when people are asked about contributing to EU budgets and adopting the euro. For Roy Taylor, 59, an actuary in central London, there would be a lot to weigh up.

"I'm sort of open to getting closer to Europe, but I'm not sure the country needs another Brexit debate all over again," he said.

OPTIONS SHOULD BE WEIGHED BASED ON 'WHAT IS DOABLE'

An EU-UK summit was postponed from July 22 following Keir Starmer's resignation as prime minister, and it could now happen in November, although any formal move would have to wait until the next election, due by mid-2029.

It is not clear how Burnham will canvass opinion on the EU, but he said in his conference speech that he would "take the opportunity around the summit to lay out to you, to lay out to the country, what I believe the different options are".

Burnham said the options should be assessed based on "what is doable" and the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Burnham has previously said he would stick to Starmer's government pledges made at the last election in 2024, which included the promise to "stay outside of the EU" and no return to the single market, the customs union or freedom of movement.

BREXIT VOTE TRIGGERED YEARS OF UPHEAVAL

Britain voted to leave the European Union in 2016, ending more than four decades of membership and triggering years of political upheaval, with successive governments grappling with the economic and diplomatic consequences of that vote.

Burnham, who replaced Starmer in July, has also said he would like Britain to rejoin the EU in his lifetime, and his message at conference that Brexit had failed to make Britain richer was welcomed by many in his Labour Party.

"I am very clear, and I will say this bluntly: Brexit has caused more harm than good," he told the BBC. "So the question is, what do we do about that?"

Britain's populist Reform UK party, led by veteran Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, criticised Burnham's plans, blaming the Labour government for low economic growth.

"Andy Burnham has barely been prime minister five minutes and he's already trying to sneak us back into Brussels via the back door," Reform's deputy leader, Richard Tice, said.

(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti and Elizabeth Piper; additional reporting by Inti Landauro, Millie McCaughan, Gerhard Mey and Sarah Young; Editing by David Gaffen, Alison Williams, Aidan Lewis)