Brussels – Labour’s Andy Burnham is the first UK Prime Minister since Brexit became a reality to have put the option of rejoining the EU back on the table at 10 Downing Street. None of his predecessors over the past decade has spoken positively about Brussels – apart from some cautious overtures by Keir Starmer towards a “reset” of relations – but what the current Prime Minister is considering goes much further.
On 29 September, Burnham used his first Labour conference speech as leader to announce a review of the “different options” for the UK’s “long-term relationship with our European partners.” He highlighted that “Brexit has not given us control,” as promised by the promoters of the first ‘real exit’ from the Union in its history (Greenland did the same in 1985, but was not an independent country). “There are different options, and I will see if we can find consensus around one, which will give us clarity about our position and the future of the continent that we live in,” he said.
One day later, speaking to BBC Radio 4, Burnham clarified that the review would include the option of rejoining the European Union – a significant shift from Labour’s position since 2024, when it won the election on a manifesto that explicitly ruled out even rejoining the EU Single Market or restoring freedom of movement. “We could stay as we are – that is definitely an option, if people think this is the right place to stay,” he explained. “We could look at what [former Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer] 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.”
Going “all the way” means precisely rejoining the European Union, ten years after the Brexit referendum and at a chaotic moment when Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are eyeing independence from the UK and a return to the EU. Ahead of the EU-UK summit in November, Burnham’s potential gamble could represent both a bold electoral move to consolidate Labour’s lead over Nigel Farage’s Reform UK in the polls and an ambitious offer from a staunch supporter of devolution to a Union that would need solid guarantees that London would not simply walk out again.
The EU’s reaction to Burnham’s twist
The European Commission remains cautious about the prospect of the UK becoming an EU member state again in the future. “No crystal ball on this side of the table,” chief spokesperson Paula Pinho told the Brussels press corps on 1 October. “We are very keen on seizing very good opportunities, but the devil lies in the details,” she continued, noting that “hopefully soon we will have a summit and we will take it from there.”
Speaking about the upcoming EU-UK Summit, the spokesperson responsible for relations with London, Balazs Ujvari, recalled that “we are focusing on three strands of negotiation” that were already open before the postponement of the summit due to the government crisis at 10 Downing Street in July — namely, “the sanitary standards, the link of our emissions trading systems, and youth mobility.” Meanwhile, technical discussions are also ongoing on defence, migration, Ukraine and AI, “and we are determined to make progress.”
It should be recalled that two significant endorsements from within the Union have already come. “This is very good news, both for his country and for Europeans,” French President Emmanuel Macron said, describing what would represent a “wise decision.” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez echoed his words, saying that Madrid “would welcome Britain’s return with open arms” after Brexit had revealed “a huge loss for the British people and the European project as a whole.”
The state of EU–UK relations
The UK applied for EU membership in 1961 and again in 1967, and joined the Union in 1973. After more than 40 years of membership, it became the first country to voluntarily withdraw from the EU following the 2016 referendum, when 51.9% of voters opted to leave. Brexit officially entered into force on 31 January 2020, followed by a year of negotiations to define the terms of the withdrawal agreement.
Since 1 May 2021, post-Brexit relations have been governed by the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which includes preferential arrangements in areas such as trade in goods and services, intellectual property, public procurement, transport, thematic cooperation and participation in EU programmes. The agreement also establishes a new framework for law enforcement and judicial cooperation in criminal and civil matters.
However, the UK government’s attempts to unilaterally reject the terms of the agreed Northern Ireland Protocol exacerbated post-Brexit tensions until the successful negotiation of the Windsor Framework in 2023. Since then, relations have significantly improved.
During the first EU–UK summit, held in 2025, the two sides agreed on a strategic partnership identifying areas for future work to strengthen relations – including a youth experience scheme, the UK’s association with the Erasmus+ programme, UK participation in the EU electricity market, a common area for sanitary and phytosanitary products, and linking the two emissions trading systems.
