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 a recent 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.
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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.
Mike Galsworthy, chair of pro-EU campaign group the European Movement, said Mr Falconer’s remarks demonstrate “exactly the right approach”.
“A Labour government looking for a new parliament absolutely has to offer something in its manifesto - and a commitment to open accession talks for full EU membership is a no brainer”, he told The Independent.
“Furthermore, if other parties like Lib Dems, Greens, Plaid, etc do the same – then you could see at the next general election a majority of voters voting for parties that pledge to open accession talks, thus giving the government a very strong mandate and also a clear signal to the EU that this country is serious about getting back in the team.
“This is what we, at European Movement UK, are pushing for."
Meanwhile, Naomi Smith, chief executive of Best for Britain, which campaigns to reintegrate the UK with the EU, said:"The world has changed rapidly and significantly in the past decade, and as the minister highlights, voters have responded - our polling consistently finds a majority of people now support the UK rejoining the EU, especially those prepared to vote for Labour at the next election.
“Shared challenges from defence and security to climate change and AI can only be tackled jointly with our closest allies and friends - and with a new prime minister pledging to secure growth in every postcode, the redistributive benefits of a £92bn GDP boost spread across the country simply cannot be overlooked - economically or politically.”
But Liberal Democrat Europe spokesperson Al Pinkerton accused the government of “still chasing its own tail on Europe”, adding: “While Ministers tiptoe around manifesto promises and jostle for influence in Number 10, British businesses, farmers, and young people are paying the price for the Conservatives’ broken Brexit deal every single day.
“The public is sick of fence-sitting and vague hints about what might happen. We need bold action now.”
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