UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the UK should reassess its long-term relationship with the EU, including keeping current arrangements, joining a customs union, re-entering the single market, or even eventually rejoining the EU.

Burnham had previously said the existing Brexit arrangements have brought effects on the UK that "do more harm than good." He plans to use the UK-EU summit later this year to present several different long-term options for relations with Europe to the domestic audience, and to seek broader consensus around one of them.

From maintaining the status quo to rejoining the bloc, the government is prepared to put options back on the table

In an interview, Burnham said the UK's future relationship with the EU should not be limited to the existing framework, but should re-evaluate all realistic and feasible choices. These options include maintaining the current Brexit arrangements, joining a customs union, establishing a relationship closer to the single market, and further rejoining the EU.

His focus is not on deciding on one of these options now, but on comparing the feasibility and pros and cons of different paths. Therefore, this statement is more accurately described as the UK government beginning to reopen policy options that had previously been explicitly ruled out, rather than having already made a decision to "return to the EU."

This goes noticeably further than Labour's 2024 position

Labour in the 2024 general election promised to "make Brexit work" and explicitly ruled out rejoining the EU customs union and single market. Under Keir Starmer, policy toward Europe focused mainly on a limited "reset" of relations, including stronger coordination on food standards, advancing youth mobility arrangements, and re-linking with parts of the EU carbon market mechanisms, but it did not touch rejoining the single market or the EU itself.

Burnham now placing the customs union, the single market, and even rejoining the bloc within the scope of long-term discussion means the Labour government's policy boundaries on Brexit are expanding. Reuters also previously noted that Burnham's remarks could reignite debate within Labour and across UK politics over the direction of Brexit.

Burnham links economic and immigration issues to Brexit arrangements

In a speech at the Labour conference, Burnham argued that the UK's current relationship with the EU "is not good enough," and linked some economic and immigration issues to post-Brexit institutional arrangements. His judgment is that the UK can no longer remain for a long time in a state lacking a clear direction in its relations with Europe, and therefore needs to redefine its economic and political relationship with the EU for the next decade.

This is one reason he plans to propose different options around the time of the next UK-EU summit.

Rejoining the EU remains only a long-term option for now

However, Burnham has not currently made rejoining the EU an official government policy. He previously said he hoped the UK could rejoin the EU in his lifetime, but in his latest remarks he also stressed that this "does not necessarily" mean he currently supports moving immediately toward rejoining. Therefore, in the short term, the more realistic policy discussion may still center on intermediate options such as a customs union, single market access, and further reducing UK-EU trade barriers.

The upcoming UK-EU summit will be an important event in the next stage. Burnham said he will further explain the different options for the UK's future relationship with the EU at that time, and try to build consensus around a long-term direction.