Former prime minister David Cameron has warned that starting a conversation about rejoining the European Union would be "very long and painful", as Prime Minister Andy Burnham's push for closer relations with Europe divides his cabinet and party.
Cameron told Bloomberg's Mishal Husain that "flirting with rejoining" could also harm Burnham's attempts to renegotiate the Conservatives' Brexit deal. "If you start endlessly producing this idea that we're actually on a path to rejoining, I think you're in danger of getting a less good partnership deal because of course the EU countries will just think: 'Well, these guys are gonna rejoin anyway, so what's the point in giving them a good partnership deal'," Cameron said.
Burnham told his cabinet earlier this week: "I firmly believe we have ended up with a harder Brexit than people voted for… no sensible person thinks the deal negotiated by the Tories is working for the country." The prime minister has opened the door to debate about rejoining the EU single market — along with the freedom of movement that would bring — and even the EU altogether, ahead of a UK-EU summit in Brussels on November 20 expected to deliver agreements on food, energy and youth mobility.
The longer-term ambition is dividing his cabinet and party. Some welcome his approach, including Angela Rayner, who is understood to have been pushing for a bolder approach on Brexit since at least autumn 2022. But others are watching nervously: Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has struck a more cautious tone, warning about the "costs and consequences" of rejoining the EU as well as staying out. Labour MP Gareth Snell, whose Stoke-on-Trent constituency voted Leave by 69.4%, told the BBC's Westminster Hour that reopening the debate would "monopolise an awful lot of time inside parliament, inside government" when there are other things MPs should be doing.
The Conservatives have strongly opposed any move to align with EU rules, with party leader Kemi Badenoch saying that would be a red line and "actually take us backwards". Reform UK, by contrast, says it is "very bullish" about the return of Brexit to political debate. A Reform UK strategist said: "If he [Burnham] wants to fight an election on a £40bn bill to rejoin, open door immigration, and less control over our laws and our courts then we are very up for that."
Burnham is due in Dublin on Thursday for the European Political Community summit, where he will meet for the first time many of the European leaders who could prove pivotal as he sells his vision for Britain's future in the bloc. Next week he will deliver a speech on foreign policy, in which Europe is a central plank, before travelling to Brussels for the summit.
