Burnham not ruling out going ‘all the way’ and rejoining European Union

By David Hughes and Will Meakin-Durrant, Press Association

Andy Burnham has acknowledged he could go “all the way” and propose rejoining the European Union as he considers the UK’s future relationship with Brussels.

The Prime Minister, who has blamed Brexit for a decade of drift and division, said he would look at the “pros and cons” of all options.

In his first Labour Party conference speech as leader earlier this week, the Prime Minister said Brexit had done “more harm than good” and promised to set out the options to the country around the time of a UK-EU summit later this year.

On Wednesday he told the BBC he did not want to leave the issue “hanging” and he wanted to be clear on “where we want Britain to go in the next decade”.

Asked whether he wanted the UK to rejoin the bloc, he told the Today programme he wanted to “look at the options”.

“We could stay as we are. That’s definitely an option, if people think this is the right place to stay,” he told the programme.

“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 indicated he is prepared to recommend going beyond those red lines in future.

“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,” he told the BBC.

He said the need for a debate about the UK’s future relationship with Europe was part of his plan to shift the country in a new direction.

“We’ve been in a rut. The country hasn’t been working for people as it should,” he told BBC Breakfast.

Mr Burnham acknowledged the pressure on household finances, with energy bills forecast to increase dramatically over the coming months and diesel prices hitting record highs.

But ahead of Chancellor John Healey’s first Budget in October, Mr Burnham warned the state of the public finances meant there was not “huge room for manoeuvre” to ease the burden.