Burnham Seeks Consensus on Closer EU Ties Ahead of November Summit
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has pledged to build consensus on closer ties with the EU, saying Brexit has done more harm than good.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he will seek a national consensus on closer ties with the European Union, a move that risks reviving the divisions that have shaped British politics since the 2016 referendum.
Speaking at the Labour Party Conference on Tuesday, Burnham said Brexit had "done more harm than good" and identified the November summit with the EU as the next step in rebuilding the relationship to improve growth and prosperity.
He said he would use the run-up to the summit to set out the different options for Britain's long-term relationship with its European partners, and to test whether agreement could be found around one of them.
The approach echoes that of his predecessor Keir Starmer, whom he replaced in July. But the attempt to forge consensus will test Burnham's political skill in a country still marked by the upheaval of its departure from the bloc.
Burnham has previously said he would like Britain to rejoin the EU within his lifetime, though he has more recently said he is not proposing such a step and that he respects the outcome of the 2016 vote.
The push for closer ties comes as the prospect of a wider war in Europe and Donald Trump's influence on trade, defence spending and geopolitics reshape alliances worldwide. Trump has pressed Europe to take greater responsibility for its own defence against Russia while using tariffs aggressively to protect US economic interests.
Against that backdrop, Britain has so far failed in its attempt to join a collective European defence investment programme, and is lobbying Brussels for inclusion in a broader "Made in Europe" manufacturing initiative.