Starmer sabotages Burnham on Brexit

Sir Keir Starmer has raised the prospect of Britain rejoining the EU in a move that threatens to undermine Andy Burnham’s push for No 10.

The Prime Minister acknowledged on Monday that a debate on Brexit “might happen years down the line”, while a Downing Street spokesman did not rule out the prospect of a Labour pledge to rejoin the EU before the next election.

Last September, Mr Burnham expressed a desire to reverse the 2016 referendum.

However, on Monday, he distanced himself from his comments as he made his case to return to Parliament at the by-election in Makerfield, a Leave-supporting constituency.

Brexit has emerged as the dominant issue among potential Labour leadership contenders after Wes Streeting, the former health secretary, said he hoped to rejoin the EU “one day”.

At the Great North summit in Leeds on Monday, Mr Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, insisted he “respects” Brexit and said that now was not the time to “re-run” old arguments.

Pledging to “bring people back together”, he added: “Britain will be stuck in a permanent rut if we’re just constantly arguing and people are pulling away from each other.”

Sir Keir’s intervention is likely to raise eyebrows among allies of Mr Burnham, who previously accused Mr Streeting of attempting to derail his campaign by bringing up Brexit before the by-election in a Leave-voting area.

Asked whether he wanted to rejoin the EU at some point, Sir Keir said: “This year, we have another summit with the EU where we’re going to take a really important leap forward in terms of the relationship, bring us closer to Europe.

“So that’s what I intend to do, not get lost in a debate about what might happen years down the line.”

A Downing Street spokesman refused to rule out rejoining the bloc in the future, adding: “I’m not going to make a commitment about the next election.”

The Telegraph understands that No 10 has canvassed views from senior Labour figures, including local government leaders in Brexit-voting areas, on whether Sir Keir should abandon his “red lines” on rejoining the customs union or single market.

Staff consulted Labour figures as Sir Keir prepared to give a “reset” speech last Monday. No 10 sources said he was never planning to announce a change of position in the speech, in which he said an upcoming summit with Brussels would create “a platform on which we can build” tighter links with the EU.

But the issue has become a talking point in Downing Street as Labour looks for a way to recover from its disastrous performance at the local elections.

Closer ties

Sir Keir has told ministers privately that he will not change his stance on the EU before the next election, but some Cabinet ministers are pushing for closer ties with Europe as a way of winning back Left-wing voters from the Green Party.

The idea has resulted in a backlash from senior Labour politicians, who say it would kill off any chance of regaining support in the party’s former heartlands in the Red Wall.

Writing for The Telegraph, Lord Blunkett, the former Labour Cabinet minister, said pledging to rejoin the EU would be “suicidal” for Labour and warned against “easy, trite and populist” solutions ahead of the Makerfield by-election.

On Monday night, Yvette Cooper reminded Labour MPs of the official party line on Brexit after Mr Streeting broke ranks by declaring he wanted to rejoin the EU.

The Foreign Secretary told a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party that the Government would not be reopening old debates that wreaked havoc in the wake of the 2016 referendum.

Sixty-five per cent of voters in Makerfield voted to leave the EU in 2016, and the by-election is expected to be a close race between Labour and Reform UK, which finished in second place at the 2024 general election and won a majority of support in six council wards at the local elections on May 7.

Mr Burnham, who has been cleared to run for selection in the seat, said on Monday that he did not want to “re-run those arguments” about Brexit and would focus on “what we’ve got in common” if he were chosen as Labour’s candidate.

He said: “I am not proposing that the UK considers rejoining the EU. I respect the decision that was made at the referendum and it is going to undermine everything I have said about strengthening democracy if we don’t respect that vote.”

At last year’s Labour conference, he said he hoped to see Britain rejoin the bloc in the “long term ... I hope in my lifetime”.

He also abandoned his view that the Government should be more flexible with its fiscal rules to fund defence spending, after alarm from the bond markets at the prospect that he may replace Sir Keir in No 10.

David Lammy, the Deputy Prime Minister, insisted on Monday that Labour would stick to its red lines until the next election, but refused to “make a commitment about the next election and the next manifesto”.

Baroness Shafik, Sir Keir’s chief economic adviser, made the case last year for rejoining the EU customs union to boost economic growth.

A source familiar with discussions said: “In their desperation, people are clearly whispering in Starmer’s ear that a big, bold move like rejoining the EU will strengthen his leadership and bring back voters lost to the Greens.

“But it would be a catastrophe in the Red Wall, where voters overwhelmingly chose to leave. It’s just more terrible judgment from Starmer and those close to him, who don’t understand working-class voters.”

David Smith, the Labour MP for North Northumberland, said it would be a “profound mistake” to reverse Brexit if the party was serious about winning in Makerfield and “convincing voters in Leave-voting areas elsewhere in the country that we remain committed to implementing their wishes”.

EU’s door open

In response to rising expectations that Labour will soften its stance at the next election, Roberta Metsola, the president of the European Parliament, told The Telegraph that the EU’s door remained open for Britain.

“There is a window and there is momentum that did not exist two years ago and may not exist two years from now,” she said, adding: “We would do well to seize this moment.”

Ms Metsola, as head of the European Parliament, is one of the three presidents of the major EU institutions. The European Commission is responsible for negotiations with Britain, acting on instructions from government leaders in the European Council.

Her remarks came as Sir Keir said he would not stand aside for Mr Burnham if the Manchester mayor were to win the Makerfield by-election, as some Labour MPs have demanded.

Asked whether he would set a timetable for his departure, Sir Keir told broadcasters: “I’m not going to do that.”

He added that the by-election was “a fight between Labour and Reform” and “I will be backing 100 per cent whoever the candidate is”.

A YouGov poll of 706 Labour members showed 59 per cent would back Mr Burnham in a leadership contest, while only 39 per cent would back Sir Keir.

But the Prime Minister fares better against Mr Streeting, with 65 per cent backing Sir Keir against 15 per cent for the former health secretary.

Sixty-one per cent want the Prime Minister to stand down before the general election.

[Source: Daily Telegraph]