Andy Burnham has faced a mixed reaction from Independent readers after committing to stick to Sir Keir Starmer’s Brexit red lines, days after signalling he wanted to be “bolder” in forging closer ties with Europe.
Downing Street confirmed on Monday that the UK will not seek to rejoin the EU, the single market, the customs union or free movement – disappointing many who had hoped Britain’s new prime minister might chart a different course.
Some accused Burnham of falling at the first hurdle, citing recent trips to France and Italy where they found everyday costs were a fraction of UK prices, as evidence of what’s being lost.
Others welcomed the caution, arguing any change of course should wait for a fresh mandate at the next general election, with several defending the result of the 2016 referendum.
A number predicted rejoining the EU is inevitable eventually, but just not on this parliament’s watch.
Here’s what you had to say:
Get a grip, Andy. The UK is lost and “stuck in a rut” by being out of the EU. I agree with him when he said he wants to be “bolder”, but that’s not enough. Bolder should mean joining the single market and being in the customs union. It makes sense to be back in the EU. We’ve recently returned from Italy, where the cost of food and drink was strikingly lower than here in the UK.
The prime minister has acted sensibly with his commitment to stick to the manifesto red lines on rejoining the EU, the single market and the customs union. This country is a democracy, and should respect the result of the referendum. If Labour wants to change, it should go to the electorate in 2029 with its plan – and if the party wins a majority, it will be right to revisit it, not otherwise.
My husband and I have just come back from France: we did several massive supermarket shops – healthy, filling and delicious – and it cost us half, if not a quarter, of what we pay in England. I understand that Andy Burnham doesn’t want to reopen the Brexit divide, but doing what is best for the poorest people in the UK would be completely legitimate. Everything in the UK costs twice, if not three times, the price it costs in other European countries.
Good grief. These fanatical pro-EU supporters just don’t seem to understand reality. They take headline polling about “rejoining the EU” as proof that UK voters want to rejoin, while ignoring the actual terms that would apply. There is a very big difference between closer cooperation with Europe and rejoining the European Union. Pretending otherwise is not serious political analysis.
I would welcome the UK rejoining the EU single market and customs union, and am disappointed by this announcement. It feels like fear of the right is holding us all to ransom. Adopting a policy that wasn’t part of Labour’s manifesto for the last election would understandably be open to criticism. That said, if it formed part of a new manifesto, it would get my support. I am not prepared to vote for a party which will not address the failures of the Brexit experiment.
Single market membership has been clearly and frequently ruled out by the EU as a potential path. The UK economy is far too large and complex to permit even rough monitoring of compliance with EU regulations outside full membership, which requires compliance with all four freedoms. The UK’s general debt of close to 100 per cent of GDP is also a serious problem, given the EU’s limit for new members is 60 per cent.
A huge political mistake and a missed opportunity. It would have signalled that Burnham was up for real change. I predict that when the winter arrives and energy bills go through the roof again – not forgetting inflation – we’ll be in the same situation as last year.
The UK is not ready to rejoin the EU. First and foremost, sort out your electoral system: first past the post is not democratic, and could mean people are elected with less than 50 per cent of the vote. Options are preferential voting, as in Australia, or a two-round system, as in France. Do something about the House of Lords, too – an unelected, archaic institution.
Burnham has realised that joining the EU is a long-term goal, not something that can be done in a few years – certainly not with Reform and Farage still grabbing big chunks of public attention and support, which all 27 EU members can see, and they still remember Farage and his UKIP band as MEPs elected by the British public. Not a pretty memory.
Britain is stuck in a permanent rut now due to Brexit. We need to claw back some of the lost £40bn a year in tax revenues – then open up inward investment by providing a level playing field with other EU countries by rejoining the EU, becoming a rule-maker again. Hopefully the 2029 general election will have more sensible manifestos that reflect reality. It is only three years away, and another lost £120bn in tax revenues.
He’s committed to a short time as PM, then. Latest figures for the young demographic are close to 90 per cent wanting to be in the EU.
I think that Britain will rejoin the EU, but I don’t think that it will be this side of the next general election, which I think Labour will win in 2029. I think Andy Burnham will choose his moment to put a vote to the people to rejoin. He doesn’t think that this is the right time to do so.
Some of the comments have been edited for this article for brevity and clarity.
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