UK’s Burnham says he’ll consider push to rejoin EU

LIVERPOOL, England — British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has stated that rejoining the European Union could be one of the options his government may consider as they assess a significant change in the UK's relationship with the bloc. Speaking at the Labour Party's annual conference in Liverpool, Burnham acknowledged that the Brexit agreement reached by the Conservatives had caused "more harm than good" and promised to outline "what I believe the different options are for Britain's long-term relationship with our European partners" at a U.K.–EU summit later this year.

In a subsequent BBC interview, Burnham elaborated, saying that the UK could explore possibilities such as the customs union proposed by former Chancellor George Osborne, the single market advocated by the Liberal Democrats, or even a complete re-entry into the EU. He emphasized that "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."

It should be noted that Burnham's Labour predecessor, Keir Starmer, had pledged not to rejoin the EU's single market or customs union. While Burnham's government will adhere to this stance prior to a general election, this announcement has set the stage for a post-election effort to re-establish the relationship between the UK and the EU, a decade after the Brexit referendum.