ANALYSIS: The PM cannot win an election if he presides over the worst parliament for living standards in modern times – and rejoining the EU could unite the Left
Andy Burnham is laying the foundations for a new relationship with the EU (Image: AFP via Getty)
Brexit is in danger. Leaders across Europe can see panic creeping through the British establishment at the crisis in living standards – and powerful figures in different political tribes in this country want the UK back as a member state. French finance minister Roland Lescure’s call for Britain to rejoin is the clearest sign yet that the EU believes Brexit could be reversed.
It is almost unthinkable that a British Treasury minister would tell a French broadcaster that France should quit the EU. But European ministers can see the lack of faith in Brexit among their Labour counterparts. They know there is the potential for a Left-Liberal alliance after the next general election – and reversing Brexit is one of the few issues that would command support among Labour, Liberal Democrat, Green, SNP and Plaid Cymru MPs.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham will shortly set out options for Britain’s future relationship with Europe, and he has already signalled that this will include rejoining the EU. The move would provoke fury in Brexiteer circles and anger voters in Leave-voting constituencies – many of whom are in the Red Wall. But there is a palpable sense of desperation as the economy refuses to prosper, debt interest payments climb, and millions of voters face the possibility of higher mortgage, food and energy costs.
Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives and Nigel Farage’s Reform UK have policy packages to revive the economy, but the cuts they are prepared to make are politically impossible for a Prime Minister who has pushed his party even further Left. Mr Burnham cannot blame Britain’s miserable growth on Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves – that would sound like an endorsement of the Tory attack line that Labour cannot be trusted with the economy – but he is happy to blame the UK’s present woes on the vote to leave the EU a decade ago.
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Gone is Starmerite talk of making Brexit “work”. Instead, the ground is being prepared for a radical shift in Britain’s relationship with Brussels. This is despite him saying before he returned to Parliament that he would respect the “decision that was made with the referendum” and the commitment in the 2024 manifesto not to return to the “single market, the customs union, or freedom of movement”.
The language around Brexit has been transformed since Sir Keir Starmer pursued his reset (Image: AFP via Getty)
If Westminster’s europhiles believe that rejoining is a true possibility they will fight to make this happen. Mr Burnham’s conference speech showed he lacks a clear vision for immediate economic growth, right when the cost of living crisis is poised to return with a vengeance. If he and his team genuinely believe that Brexit has sabotaged the economy they will have every motivation to go back into the bloc.
They know the consequences of economic turmoil on their watch would be destructive for Labour’s future. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation warns that “incomes after housing costs in 2029-30 are now expected to be between £440 and £770 a year lower than they were in 2024-25”. It says that “either scenario would represent the worst parliament for living standards since modern records began in 1961”.
The think tank does not hold back in describing the consequences for the nation: “A decade of no growth in living standards is a disaster. We would typically expect average incomes to have grown by £10,000 over the period.” This comes as the average interest rate on a new five-year fixed mortgage deal has reached 6% for the first time in three years.
Mr Burnham must know that his hopes of winning an election in 2029 will be sunk if this vision becomes a reality. Desperate times call for desperate measures – and this is what makes Rejoin a real possibility.
NHS major vaccine rollout for pensioners aged 65 to 74 continues in October
The RSV vaccine rollout started in September.
Adults aged between 65 and 74 years in certain clinical at risk groups are to be offered the RSV jab (Image: Getty)
NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) are continuing a major vaccine rollout for older adults in October to protect against Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).
The NHS RSV vaccination programme got underway on September 1 and this year is being expanded to include adults aged 65 to 74 years in certain clinical at risk groups. The RSV vaccine has been routinely available to older adults as they turn 75 since September 2024 and was later extended to include all adults aged 80 and over, as well as all residents in care homes in April 2026. But following advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), a further expansion this year has now extended the eligibility criteria even further to include adults aged 65 to 74 years.
NHS England and the UKHSA confirmed the RSV vaccine expansion back in July, stating that GPs will offer the jab to those who are eligible from September 1, meaning the rollout is now underway.
RSV is a common cause of coughs and colds and while it usually gets better by itself, it can cause severe illness for babies and older adults over the age of 75.
Those who are infected with RSV typically experience cold-like symptoms including a runny or blocked nose, a cough, sneezing, tiredness and a high temperature, but it can also lead to more serious infections like pneumonia or bronchiolitis.
The RSV vaccination is available on the NHS for free to eligible groups, which can help reduce the risk of becoming seriously ill from the infection. You can currently get the jab if:
- you’re 28 weeks pregnant or more
- you’re aged 75 or over
- you live in a care home for older adults
But as of September 1, 2026, adults aged 65 to 74 and in either of the following clinical at risk groups will become eligible to get the RSV vaccine:
1. Chronic respiratory disease including those with:
- poorly controlled asthma
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including chronic bronchitis and emphysema
- bronchiectasis
- cystic fibrosis
- interstitial lung fibrosis
- pneumoconiosis
- bronchopulmonary dysplasia
2. Immunosuppression due to disease or treatment.
Confirming the expansion in a letter in July, Caroline Temmink, director of vaccination at NHS England, and Dr Mary Ramsay CBE, director of public health programmes (including immunisation) at the UKHSA, said: “From 1 September 2026, the eligibility criteria will be expanded further to include adults aged 65 to 74 years in certain clinical at risk groups as advised by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).” This includes people with:
- chronic respiratory disease
- immunosuppression due to disease or treatment
The pair set out key points about the programme, including:
- the vaccine used in the programme will continue to be Abrysvo® (Pfizer pre-F vaccine) on a one-dose schedule. Adults who receive the vaccine from 1 September 2026 because they are aged 65 to 74 years old and in a clinical risk group should not be invited for a further dose of Abrysvo® when they become 75 years old
- RSV vaccines can be administered at any time and offers of vaccination should continue throughout the year. RSV vaccination should not be routinely scheduled with influenza vaccination but can be co-administered with the COVID-19 vaccine
- GP providers are expected to deliver a 100% offer to eligible groups, with call and recall delivered at the earliest opportunity
- where community pharmacies have been commissioned to support the older adults RSV programme, an updated enhanced service specification will be issued ahead of 1 September, and commissioned community pharmacies will be invited by regions to enter a contract variation.”
If you’re aged 65 to 74 and have a weakened immune system or long-term lung conditions, your GP surgery will contact you about getting the RSV vaccine and this will usually be by letter, phone call or email.
The vaccine is given as an injection in your upper arm and older adults only need one dose, which should protect them for several years, according to the NHS.
