UK's Labour Party Open to Rejoining EU, Ten Years After Brexit

Burnham Doesn't Rule Out Rejoining EU Ten Years After Brexit

Can a country walk back through a door it slammed shut? Ten years after the referendum that split British politics, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has refused to rule out that a promise to rejoin the European Union could antiestéticature in the next Labour election manifesto. The question came as he was en route to the United Nations General Assembly, and his answer was 'one for another day.' While there's no official policy change, after years of the Labour leadership avoiding any mention of the divorce, a door left ajar is as significant as a speech.

Blair's Report Puts Figures on Rejoining

Tony Blair has made a move. The former Prime Minister is calling for the UK to work towards a reformed EU over the next decade and urges Burnham to incorporate that aspiration into the ten-year plan he is preparing. He does so with a report from his institute, Beyond Leave and Remain: a path to rejoining a reformed Europe, which argues that London must abandon the red lines set after Brexit and accept what no one wants to hear out loud: free movement of people and a contribution to the EU budget. That is, precisely the two points that underpinned the 2016 campaign.

Burnham respects these red lines during the current parliamentary term—no return to the single market, customs union, or freedom of movement—but before reaching Downing Street, he had already said he would like to see the UK back in the EU during his lifetime. His stated priority is different: to strike practical deals with Brussels that boost the economy.

The Two Souls of Labour

Within the party, consensus does not exist. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has called the Brexit vote a 'catastrophic mistake' and advocates aiming for rejoining. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy warns against reopening the debates that divided the country for years. Between these two extremes, a government that appears much more cautious when the microphone is turned off. There is no agreement on whether the process should eventually end with the recovery of member state status.

Made in EU: The Tariff Brussels Doesn't Call a Tariff

Where the limits of the divorce are truly felt is in the bill. The European Industrial Acceleration Act introduces European content requirements for public procurement, auctions, and aid to strategic sectors: electric vehicles, batteries, solar and wind, hydrogen, aluminium, and nuclear technology. Goods from the 27 member states, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway, enter automatically. The Commission still has to decide which third countries will benefit. The UK, for now, is watching from the outside.

Who Voted What in 2016?

The referendum map remains uncomfortable. The country as a whole voted to leave by 52% to 48%, but Wales voted 52.5% to 47.5%, while Scotland and Northern Ireland clearly opted to stay. This is the source of threats of internal rupture and calculations of what it would cost for any of the nations to break away. Ten years later, the cost of purchasing British materials—as domestic as a model railway set—has doubled in just six years, while wages rose by 4.8% and inflation ate up nearly 10% annually. The arithmetic of regret needs no polls.

Burnham met with Von der Leyen in New York, in their first meeting since he took office at Number 10, to prepare for the next London-EU summit. They discussed Ukraine, hybrid warfare, Russian disinformation, and irregular immigration. Rejoining was 'one for another day.' The club still has its door open and the light on. There's no need to rush either: no one has yet said who's paying for the first round.