Burnham Opens Door to UK Rejoining EU, Says 'All the Way' Option Is on the Table

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has signalled that Britain could eventually move toward rejoining the European Union, describing full membership as one of the options his government may examine as it seeks to settle the country's long-term relationship with Brussels.

In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Burnham said rejoining the bloc is among the possibilities that could be considered, adding that the UK could potentially go "all the way" back into the EU. The comments came just a day after he delivered his first speech as prime minister to the Labour Party conference on Tuesday.

The prime minister framed the debate as one that requires national consensus rather than a decision imposed from the top. He said he would work to "find consensus" across the country on a single option that would clarify where the UK stands in relation to Europe over the long term, suggesting that any shift in policy would need broad public buy-in.

Burnham stressed that no single path had been chosen yet, and that the government must weigh both the practicalities and the trade-offs of each route. "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 said, indicating that officials would assess feasibility before committing to any direction.

Asked to outline what those options might involve, the prime minister said one possibility is that the UK simply remains as it is. "We could stay as we are, that's definitely an option, if people think this is the right place to stay," he told the programme, placing the status quo alongside more far-reaching alternatives.

The remarks represent a notable widening of the political conversation around Britain's post-Brexit settlement. Successive governments have spent years managing the fallout from the 2016 referendum and the terms of withdrawal, with debate largely focused on tweaking the existing trade agreement rather than revisiting membership itself. Burnham's decision to name full re-entry as a live option pushes that discussion into more ambitious territory.

For Labour, the intervention carries particular weight because it comes from a leader who has just set out his governing agenda at conference. A prime minister using a major broadcast interview to float rejoining the EU will inevitably be read as a signal about the direction he wants the party and the country to debate, even if no formal policy has been adopted.

The phrase "all the way" is likely to dominate the political reaction. It implies a spectrum of possibilities rather than a binary choice between staying out and going fully back in, leaving room for intermediate arrangements that could include closer alignment on trade, regulation or mobility without a complete return to membership.

Supporters of deeper integration are likely to seize on the comments as evidence that the political taboo around rejoin has weakened, and that a serious national conversation is now possible. Critics, meanwhile, will argue that reopening the question risks renewed division and could undermine the stability that businesses and voters have been promised since the withdrawal agreement took effect.

Economically, the stakes are substantial. Rejoining the EU would affect trade terms, regulatory alignment, labour mobility, fisheries, agriculture and financial services, among many other sectors. Each option on the spectrum Burnham described would carry distinct costs and benefits, and the government's stated intention to study "what is doable" suggests a technocratic assessment of those consequences is expected before any political decision.

The prime minister's emphasis on consensus also reflects the sensitivity of the issue. Brexit reshaped British party politics, realigned voter loyalties and strained relationships with European partners. Any leader seeking to revisit the question would need to build a durable majority, not merely win a parliamentary vote, and Burnham's language points to a long process of public persuasion rather than a swift policy shift.

The timing of the interview, one day after his conference address, gives the comments added significance. Conference speeches are typically used to define a leader's priorities for the year ahead, and Burnham's decision to follow his with a candid discussion of EU options suggests he wants the topic to remain in the headlines rather than fade after the applause.

What happens next remains unclear. Burnham did not announce a formal review, timetable or referendum, and he explicitly left open the possibility that the UK stays where it is. The immediate effect is to broaden the terms of debate, shifting the question from whether Europe can be discussed at all to which of several possible futures the country should pursue.

For now, the government's position appears to be one of studied openness: examining the menu of options, weighing pros and cons, and seeking a national consensus before choosing. Whether that approach produces a concrete policy or simply prolongs uncertainty will depend on how quickly the assessment proceeds and whether the public proves willing to engage with a question many hoped had been settled.