A government minister has failed to rule out putting a promise to rejoin the EU in Labour’s next manifesto, suggesting that Andy Burnham could attempt to unpick Brexit in the next parliament.
Minister for European relations Hamish Falconer insisted that the government is “not talking about rejoining today”, but added: “What we do in our next manifesto will be a question for the Labour Party”.
Mr Burnham has previously said he is in favour of the UK rejoining the EU, but later clarified that he will not try to rejoin, arguing that the country would be stuck in a “permanent rut if we’re just constantly arguing”.
Asked on Monday how the new prime minister’s will approach Britain’s relationship with the EU, following a “reset” of relations undertaken by Sir Keir Starmer, Mr Falconer told Sky News: ” The previous prime minister did really important work to help reset relations, and I want to consolidate some of that work. But we also need to see how we can go further.
“Even since when we started those talks, the world has changed quite dramatically. The threats have changed quite dramatically – both, talking about some of the threats in Eastern Europe, but clearly there are economic security threats, disinformation threats too.”
Asked whether he agrees with calls from former Labour leader Neil Kinnock, who called for Britain to rejoin the EU in an interview with The Independent, Mr Falconer said: “Look, the questions for the next manifesto are not yet sorted, but I think it’s been absolutely clear from what the prime minister has said, and I share his views on this – we had this vote 10 years ago. It was the will of the country. It was the will of my own constituency as well. We’re not backsliding from that.
“The world has changed since 2016. We need to make sure that our relationship with Europe changes too. Europe and the UK both face real challenges.”
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Asked whether he could rule out reopening the issue of Brexit, he said: “We’re not talking about rejoining today. What we do in our next manifesto will also be a question for the Labour Party.”
Earlier this month, Lord Kinnock told The Independent that rejoining the EU was the “only patriotic thing to do” for Britain.
He argued that anyone who truly loves Britain should back rejoining the bloc – and they should do it for the “kids” at the very least.
In a stark message to the Mr Burham, Lord Kinnock also urged him not to be as constrained as Sir Keir by Labour’s so-called “red lines” on Europe, which rule out rejoining the customs union and single market or allowing free movement of labour.
