Burnham Leaves Brexit Reversal Open for Next Labour Manifesto
Prime Minister Andy Burnham declined to rule out including reversing Brexit in Labour's next manifesto. He was asked about it by reporters on his flight to New York on Monday for the UN General Assembly. The Guardian
Burnham said he will stick to Keir Starmer's red lines on EU relations until the next election. Labour's 2024 manifesto set those limits as no return to the single market, the EU's common rules for trade, the customs union, its shared tariff system, or freedom of movement, the right to live and work across borders. Politico
He said his immediate priority is a UK/EU summit he hopes will take place later in 2026. He was scheduled to hold his first meeting as prime minister with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday. He said he was concerned the EU's made in Europe legislation could affect British industry and supply chains.
His parliamentary seat of Makerfield voted to leave the EU. Burnham became prime minister on 20 July 2026 after serving as Greater Manchester mayor. He promotes a political vision called 'Manchesterism'. In 2023, the UK prime minister hosted a press conference with von der Leyen at the Windsor Guildhall.
The line holds for now. Britain's trade unions have urged Burnham to drop the red lines and described them as "arbitrary." Politico His wording has changed over the past year. In May, he promised not to "re-run" Brexit arguments and said he was not proposing the UK consider rejoining the EU. BBC When launching his campaign, he said he respected the decision that was made. Last September, he said he wanted the UK to rejoin the EU. He later said Brexit "has been damaging."
The broader context here is about sequencing as much as substance. Burnham is keeping the current constraints for this parliament while refusing to extend them to the next manifesto. That lets him reassure Leave-voting areas, including his own, and keep Brussels focused on short-term deliverables, while leaving Labour room to redefine its offer before the next election.
Looking at what this means for diplomacy, the test will be what the summit can produce within the red lines. Regulatory alignment, supply-chain exposure to EU industrial policy, and how summits and leader-level meetings work will shape whether the relationship deepens without treaty-level change. The door stays ajar. Whether unions, business pressure, or EU demands push Burnham to walk through it will define the next phase of UK/EU relations.
