The Prime Minister has not ruled out Britain going “all the way” and re-joining the bloc.
Andy Burnham has not ruled out the UK re-joining the EU (Image: Getty)
Andy Burnham has not ruled out the UK’s future re-entry into the European Union. The German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, vowed on Thursday to “do anything” possible to bring Britain closer to the bloc during the Prime Minister’s visit to Berlin. Mr Merz added he was “personally extremely happy” that Mr Burnham had reopened the question of Britain’s future relationship with the EU. The Chancellor said: “From our German side, I can assure you that we will do anything what we can do to bring the UK closer and closer back to Europe, to the European continent, to the European Union.
“And I’m really happy to have you here today with this clear message from your side and with this clear answer from our side.” Mr Burnham said: “The time has come to think more seriously about growth, and obviously we know growth can come from that closer relationship.
“We have a UK-EU summit in front of us before the end of the year and I think it is important that we can show that growth comes from co-operation, as I believe it can do, as well as facing joint challenges together.” He added: “It feels to me that the world as it is, is bringing us closer together.
“It’s making us more closely aligned. We already are very close partners, but UK and Germany becomes a more important axis as we go into the next next period.”
Get the latest politics news – straight from our team in Westminster and more
Invalid email
You agree you are 18 or over. We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. You can unsubscribe at any time. More Info.
So what could be a roadmap for the UK’s re-admission into the EU? Firstly, this may have already begun as the Government seeks regulatory alignment with the bloc.
The Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement, for example, is a veterinary and agri-food agreement aiming to cut border checks and reduce food costs. Further to this, Mr Burnham could in the future pursue a policy of Britain’s re-entry into the Customs Union, Single Market or both.
Britain voted to leave the European Union in 2016 (Image: Getty)
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. Finally, a democratic mandate to re-enter the EU itself would likely be sought by the Government from the British public — either in the form including it in Labour’s general election manifesto, or as a result of a second referendum on the UK’s membership of the bloc.
Formally applying for EU membership is done under Article 49 of the bloc’s treaty. The Institute for Government says regarding whether Britain would secure a rebate and opt-outs in the event it is re-admitted: “As an EU member, the UK negotiated a financial rebate of around two thirds of its net contribution.
“It also negotiated an opt-out from the monetary union and – had it remained a member – would have secured an opt-out from the EU’s desire for an ever closer (political) union. But as a new member state, the UK would have no such privileges. It could attempt to negotiate opt-outs and a rebate as part of the accession process, or after it had joined the EU, but these would almost certainly required the approval of all member states and a majority in the EU Parliament.”
Andy Burnham is accused of inciting disorder after a record 781 migrants crossed the Channel in one day, while Reform UK warns numbers are accelerating.
Andy Burnham accused of ‘inciting disorder’ over migrant crisis (Image: Getty)
Andy Burnham has been accused of inciting disorder across the country because of the way his Government is handling the migration crisis.
It comes after his administration suffered its worst day on record, with 781 illegal migrants breaking into the country in unlawful Channel crossings in a single day.
The record-breaking influx also saw two boats arrive on UK shores undetected, sparking fury in Westminster and triggering threats of protests at migrant sites.
Horrendous footage and pictures, seen in Thursday’s Daily Express, also show what appears to be a man abandoning a child in the water so he can climb aboard a crowded dinghy.
Reform UK’s Shadow Home Secretary Zia Yusuf warned that numbers were “accelerating” despite Home Office claims that the overall total had reduced.
He told Good Morning Britain that the UK has had “north of 210,000 people turn up on our beaches illegally in the past eight years” and warned “people’s lives are being turned upside down”.
Those comments were in relation to the village of Piddington, which recently hosted a symbolic referendum to leave the UK in protest against the housing of migrants at a nearby base.
Mr Yusuf said residents “are terrified that they are about to be outnumbered 10 to 1 by illegal migrant men”.
Home Office data shows a decline in the number of crossings this year, but critics say the overall figure remains far too high, with an insufficient number of people being sent back to their countries of origin.
Reform UK’s Zia Yusuf accuses Andy Burnham of inciting disorder (Image: Getty)
In a scathing attack on the Prime Minister, Mr Yusuf said: “Andy Burnham is inciting disorder in Britain by wielding the state’s monopoly on violence to impose unvetted men from countries like Afghanistan, Syria and Eritrea into local communities.”
He added: “This is unprecedented. I am worried the country is heading to a dark place.”
His remarks refer to footage showing coaches used to transfer migrants from the coast to immigration centres being accompanied by a police escort.
There have been mounting protests by masked men near locations used to hold migrants, though police support for security reasons is not uncommon.
