If there’s one factor Andy Burnham may do with out, it is extra discuss Brexit
Andy Burnham has argued that reopening the Brexit debate will put the UK back in a rut, days after Wes Streeting suggested rejoining the European Union
Andy Burnham has said re-running arguments about Brexit is the last thing the country should be doing(Image: Peter Byrne/PA Wire)
If there’s one thing Andy Burnham could do without, it’s talk about reversing Brexit.
A decade after the divisive referendum on leaving the EU, it’s still a thorny issue. So Wes Streeting’s intervention at the weekend, when he said Brexit was a “catastrophic mistake” and suggested rejoining, could not come at a worse time for the Greater Manchester Mayor.
He’s trying to win a by-election in a constituency that voted heavily for Brexit, and Nigel Farage will love the chance to fight this battle again. Mr Burnham’s camp has already described the former Health Secretary’s remark as “unhelpful” – while some allies even went as far as labelling it sabotage.
It’s also awkward that Mr Burnham himself has previously floated the idea of rejoining the EU, telling the Labour Party conference last year: “I hope it happens in my lifetime.” But in a speech on Monday he was keen to distance himself from this, warning that Britain will be caught in a permanent rut if it keeps going over the same argument.
“My view is that Brexit has been damaging, but I also believe the last thing we should do right now is rerun those arguments,” he said. Of all the things he will want to talk about in the coming weeks, this isn’t it.
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He wants to focus on how to reconnect the Labour Party with working class voters. An argument over the European Union doesn’t feel like the way to achieve that.
It’s worth remembering what a huge gamble Mr Burnham has taken by standing in Makerfield – and how much is at stake if he loses. In the local elections, Reform picked up 50.4% of votes for council wards in the constituency. That was more than double Labour’s 22.7%, while the Greens got 10.9%.
And Labour isn’t defending a huge majority either. Outgoing MP Josh Simons won the seat by 5,399 votes in 2024, with Reform still securing more than 12,000 votes.
Across the country, public opinion seems broadly in favour of rejoining. Last month polling by YouGov found 55% would be in favour, compared to 33% against.
It would require a mandate to do so – either a referendum or a manifesto with backing by voters. The current Labour leadership have made it clear that reversing Brexit is not on the table, and many strongly believe now’s not the time to be having that debate.
Labour MP Jonathan Hinder was in disbelief that it’s become a talking point at such a key time.
He fumed: “If I went into the Wallace Hartley pub in my constituency and I said to them ‘you know that thing we just did which paralyzed our politics, which tore our country apart, that we said we were done with… If I said to them we’re going to reopen it, and we’re going to reopen it all, they would rightly look at me as if I had gone mad.
“They’d say, ‘you are off your rocker if you think the priority for the British people right now is to restart this debate’.”
