Towards reunification? Britain–EU, Burnham: An option we are considering

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has suggested that the United Kingdom’s return to the EU is among the options the government could consider, in order to reshape its long-term relationship with Europe.

Burnham told the BBC that Brexit and the deal that followed have done more harm than good and stressed that he wants to examine “what is doable” to repair relations.

His statement comes after the speech he gave on Tuesday at the Labour Conference, where he suggested he would explore closer relations with the bloc, at a summit taking place later in the year.

The move could create a dividing line in the next general election, with the Conservatives accusing the prime minister of “trying to reopen old wounds, restarting the battles of the early Brexit years”.

Last week, Burnham left open the possibility that at the next general election he would seek a mandate to rejoin the EU.

When he ran for the parliamentary seat that returned him to Parliament, he promised he would not return to the Brexit arguments and would not propose joining the Union again.

But his latest comments are the clearest signal so far that the head of government could break away from the 2024 election slogan, when Labour pledged to make Brexit work and ruled out a return to the bloc’s single market.

“I do not want to leave the question of relations with the EU hanging and I want us to be clear about where Britain should go in the next decade,” Burnham told the BBC.