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Andy Burnham has reopened the debate over Britain's relationship with the European Union, arguing that Brexit caused more harm than good and contributed to a decade of weak economic growth. He said Britain should consider rejoining the EU, the Single Market or the Customs Union, despite the 2020 completion of Brexit under Boris Johnson.
Why is Brexit suddenly back on the agenda in Britain ? Brexit is back on the agenda because Andy Burnham deliberately put it there during his Labour conference speech on Tuesday, when he suggested that he is open to the idea of his country rejoining the European Union a decade after it voted to leave the bloc.
During an impassioned speech that was heavily laden with big policy announcements, Burnham said Brexit had done “more harm than good” and blamed it for the decade of low economic growth his nation has experienced since it voted to leave. Declaring that Britain needs to look again at Brexit to help it “restore a higher level of growth and prosperity”, Burnham said he wanted to start a debate about the different options that may be available to Britain for its long-term relationship with the EU.
In subsequent media interviews, including one with BBC Radio on Wednesday morning, Burnham confirmed that rejoining the EU was one of the options Britain should consider. It “could go all the way”, he said. He also suggested that rejoining the Single Market or the EU’s Customs Union could be among the other options available to it. I thought this was all settled.
Didn’t Boris Johnson “get Brexit done”? Johnson did indeed finalise a withdrawal agreement with the EU soon after his landslide election win in December 2019. Britain formally ceased to be an EU member at the end of January 2020, and transition arrangements ended at the end of that year, which is when it stopped being a member of the Single Market and Customs Union. A so-called “hard Brexit” came into being.
Brexiteers had argued that leaving the Single Market in particular would help Britain “take back control” of its economy and also its borders, as it would end free movement of EU workers. Controlling migration was one of the biggest issues for Brexit voters. Migration is still a big issue in Britain. So what is Burnham doing?
In his speech on Tuesday, Burnham took aim at the whole idea that Brexit had helped Britain to control migration. As well as his economic arguments, he blamed Brexit for Britain “losing control” of border management. He said migration was better controlled when Britain was in the EU because it had more co-operation to tackle issues such as small boat crossings.
That was a direct attack on the central argument of Brexiteers and their promise that leaving the EU bloc would help Britain “take back control”.
“The British Right talk about ‘taking back control’. Never let them forget, they are the ones that gave it away in the first place,” said Burnham. Burnham’s predecessor as Labour leader and prime minister, Keir Starmer , always said rejoining the EU, the Customs Union or the Single Market, or allowing free movement of workers, were all “red lines” that he would never cross. In a single swoop, Burnham has junked Labour and Britain’s red lines.
His pro-EU views should not be seen as a surprise. He has said for years that he wanted to see Britain rejoin “in his lifetime” – he is now 56. But now he has said it as UK prime minister. What do the British people think?
Britain voted for Brexit in 2016 by a clear but relatively small majority of 52 per cent Leave to 48 per cent Remain. But polls now consistently show a significant majority of British people are in favour of rolling back Brexit and believe it was a mistake. A poll this week by Public First for Politico suggested that 70 per cent of British voters now want Britain to build closer ties with the EU.
Another poll early in the summer suggested that about 55 per cent of Britons would support a full rejoin. Consistent polling in favour of closer EU ties has prompted some senior Labour politicians to openly address the issue. London mayor and Labour peer Sadiq Khan directly called for Britain to rejoin at the Labour Irish Society reception on Monday night.
Burnham must be careful, however, as voters of his Makerfield constituency were among the biggest Brexit backers in the 2016 vote. What happens next? Britain will hold a summit with the EU in November. Burnham said in his speech that he would use the period around it to have a debate in Britain on what the options available might be.
He suggested he wants “consensus”, which will be difficult to find on this issue in Britain. But he was also clear in his speech that where he cannot find consensus, he will do what he feels is right on the big issues. It is unlikely, however, that Labour would seek to lead Britain to rejoin the EU unless it first won a general election with such a promise in its manifesto.
That means the idea is either on the long-term agenda for Burnham or it could buttress arguments for an election earlier than 2029, for when one is next slated. One way or the other, the Brexit debate is back in Britain.
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