Rejoining EU emerges as option in UK’s political debate

U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said rejoining the European Union could be one of several options for the U.K.’s long-term relationship with the bloc, bringing EU membership back into political discussion, the BBC reported.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today program, Burnham said the government should examine a range of options, from maintaining the current post-Brexit arrangements to closer economic integration and potentially going «all the way.»

Burnham stressed that the government had not settled on a particular course, saying it would have to assess the advantages and disadvantages of each option as well as what is politically achievable.

The prospect of closer integration remains politically contested. The Liberal Democrats have called for Britain to rejoin the EU single market and a customs union, while the Conservatives and Reform UK oppose moves toward closer integration.

Jukka Salovaara, the EU’s ambassador to the U.K., said last week that the «doors are open» but that it is up to the British public to determine the level of cooperation it wants with the bloc.

The U.K. formally left the European Union in 2020, following the 2016 referendum in which 51.9% of voters backed leaving.