British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has reignited discussion over the country’s future relationship with the European Union (EU), including the possibility of rejoining the bloc.

His comments mark a shift from Labour’s earlier position and raise questions about how far Britain could go in restoring closer relations with its European neighbors.
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Burnham said Brexit had “done more harm than good” and outlined several possible paths for Britain’s long-term ties with the EU.
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“I would like to see Britain rejoin in my lifetime,” he said, while stressing that he would examine the different available options.

The choices include keeping the existing arrangement, joining a customs union, returning to the EU single market, or seeking full EU membership. Each would involve a different level of economic integration and political commitment.
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The renewed debate comes 10 years after 52 percent of British voters chose to leave the EU in the June 2016 referendum. Britain formally exited the bloc in 2020.
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Burnham has placed economic growth at the center of his argument for reconsidering Britain’s relationship with the EU.... He said Brexit had hurt economic growth and argued that it would be difficult to restore stronger growth rates while Britain remained too distant from its largest market.

Recent opinion polls indicate considerable public support for closer ties with the EU, although that does not necessarily translate into support for full membership.

A Public First poll found that 70 percent of British voters wanted the government to establish closer relations with the EU, the Independent reported Wednesday. YouGov polling published the same day showed 59 percent of respondents favored Britain rejoining the bloc.
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French President Emmanuel Macron and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez have welcomed the possibility of Britain returning to the EU.

(10-09-2026 08:39 AM)ericsrevenge76 Wrote:  As things escalate in Europe we should consider letting some of those tradition and conservative Europeans in to America who want to stand and fight even if their nation is already lost.

(10-09-2026 08:13 AM)Native Georgian Wrote:  Some sort of connection to the customs union or the single market could be acceptable. Some Brexit proponents called it “the Norway Option” in the 2010-2016 era. At the time, that was actually what I was hoping would happen.

But David Cameron, the pro-EU prime minister at the time, intentionally put all the chips on the table for the 2016 referendum, in an attempt to make a potential Brexit more jarring and difficult. What Cameron didn’t count on was that the people were so deeply opposed to EU that they would still vote for it anyway — and they did exactly that.

At this point, rejoining the EU would absolutely mean dropping the £ and switching to the €, just for starters. And of course British foreign/military/immigration policy would be subsumed by the German/French consensus. I haven’t seen any survey-data on that question but I’d bet the British people are overwhelmingly opposed to that.

(10-09-2026 09:21 AM)JRsec Wrote:  

(10-09-2026 08:39 AM)ericsrevenge76 Wrote:  As things escalate in Europe we should consider letting some of those tradition and conservative Europeans in to America who want to stand and fight even if their nation is already lost.

How about we send them a whole Muslim community from one of our states for a traditional European community upset with their corporatist elites who allow outsiders to ravage their country. I call that a fair trade.