Former British chancellor Rachel Reeves has stated that the U.K.’s future should be in the European Union, arguing Brexit has been bad for Britain.

Writing in the Sunday Times, Reeves, who was sacked as chancellor by Prime Minister Andy Burnham when he entered Downing Street, said: “I am proud of the progress we have already made in strengthening our relationship with the European Union. Brexit has made us poorer, weaker and less secure.

“There is a debate to be had about our future relationship with Europe, and I welcome Andy Burnham’s leadership in facing up to this. No one in the Treasury ever doubted where my instincts were.”

Reeves added that while she believes “Britain’s future lies in the European Union”, it was “incumbent on supporters of our re-entry to make the argument, demonstrate tangible benefits and to get the next steps right.”

Last week, Burnham expressed an openness to restarting free movement between the U.K and the EU. He also said he’d like to see Britain rejoin the bloc in his lifetime — but ruled out a move to reverse Brexit in the current parliament.

At the last election, Labour’s manifesto — which Reeves helped to draw up — said a Labour government would stay outside the EU.

But at the Labour Party’s conference in September, Burnham called for closer links with the bloc.

Reeves’ intervention comes ahead of a leaders’ summit later this month where she said “at a minimum” she hoped to see confirmation of a youth mobility scheme she has been pushing for.

At the Nov. 20 summit, the EU and the U.K. hope to sign off on a set of agreements ranging from trade to climate regulations.

LONDON — U.K. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds insisted he is in agreement with his boss Andy Burnham’s drive for closer European Union ties — a month after he warned re-litigating Brexit battles would cause “uncertainty” for business.

Reynolds told POLITICO at Labour conference that a return to the bloc’s customs union — one of the potential EU options floated by Burnham since then — would force “a whole range of alignment on regulatory issues” and warned that constant “constitutional questions” cause “a lot of uncertainty for business.”

But, challenged by Sky News Tuesday on whether Burnham was adding to that uncertainty by bringing the Europe issue to the top of the government agenda, Reynolds said: “I don’t disagree with the prime minister …

“For the here and now, I very strongly backed our manifesto position which is: can we improve our trade relationships with the rest of the world, which we’ve done.”

He added: “When we’re talking about the next ten years, you can’t avoid this question.
The uncertainty is there come what may. I want as least uncertainty as possible for British business.”

Burnham is due to attend a long-planned U.K.-EU summit in Brussels on November 20, where he will attempt to iron on issues with the existing Brexit settlement — although the summit is not expected to get into wider questions about the U.K.’s relationship with the bloc.

LONDON — Prime Minister Andy Burnham reiterated Monday his desire for the U.K. to rejoin the EU within his lifetime — but ruled out a move to reverse Brexit in the current parliament.

Asked by ITV’s Good Morning Britain Monday whether he wanted to rejoin the EU, Burnham said: “I’m going to be honest and say, in my lifetime, I would like to see that happen but I am not going to move ahead of the public.

“I am not going to dictate in terms of my own opinions here. You have to make sure that the public, the British public, are the bosses.”

At the ruling Labour Party’s conference last month, Burnham called for closer links with the EU.

He has yet to spell out precise details of the relationship he would seek — but the party’s 2024 election-winning manifesto under Keir Starmer ruled out rejoining the single market, customs union or accepting freedom of movement with the bloc.

Burnham said Monday that the promises of the 2016 referendum that took Britain out of the EU have not been delivered.

“We got a harder Brexit than was proposed in the referendum campaign,” he said. “It’s weakened our economy. It’s also weakened our control of immigration and that might surprise people.”

But he said: “I’m not proposing rejoining in this Parliament. We’re way, way away from that at this particular moment in time. What I am saying is we need to take some practical steps to make the arrangement work better than the arrangement we’ve got right now.”

The PM’s remarks come after he told the Sunday Times that accepting freedom of movement with the bloc should not be off the table in future negotiations.

A U.K.-EU summit is scheduled for next month, although that is set to focus tightly on technical tweaks to the existing relationship rather than addressing bigger questions of Britain’s future ties to the bloc.

Burnham’s decision to reignite debate in Britain about the EU has already provoked a bullish response from some of Brexit’s leading cheerleaders.

Speaking at a Westminster press conference Monday, Nigel Farage said rejoining the bloc would be “utterly moronic” and argued Brexiteers would win a referendum on reversing the result “very comfortably.”

“Listen, Brexit would not have happened if I had not been born — all right, simple as that,” the Reform UK leader said Monday. “Yes, there were some Johnny-Come-Latelies. They came in at five minutes to midnight. Am I up for the fight again? You bet your blooming life I am.”

Sam Blewett contributed to this report.

LONDON — Andy Burnham pledged to bring back hope when he entered Downing Street. Labour MPs are feeling it — for now.

The British prime minister is approaching 100 days in No. 10 this week with his party believing things are on the up.

Keir Starmer was toppled earlier this year after disastrous local election results precipitated a loss of confidence in his administration.

Disgruntled Labour MPs warned their new leader must show up, listen to them and accept some disagreement to avoid repeating his predecessor’s mistakes.

POLITICO sets out the four reasons Labour MPs are feeling more chipper under Burnham — but they still see potential pitfalls ahead.

Some of the dozen parliamentarians interviewed by POLITICO for this piece were granted anonymity to speak candidly about the internal party matters.

1) Disagreement is tolerated

MPs reckon Burnham’s administration is more willing to recognize different views within the broad church Labour Party.

Burnham himself told a Parliamentary Labour Party meeting that disagreement is fine as long as MPs speak to him about it, according to Simon Opher — a 2024-intake MP and member of Mainstream, the soft-left faction supported by Burnham when he was Greater Manchester mayor.

“It sounds weird, but that is a remarkable difference from what they had before,” Opher said, claiming he felt a “slight climate of fear” early in his political career.

Starmer infuriated MPs when weeks after taking office he suspended the whip from those who voted to scrap a two-child benefit cap — only to U-turn earlier this year.

By contrast, Kim Johnson, a member of Labour’s left-wing Socialist Campaign Group faction, points out she wasn’t sanctioned after abstaining on the government’s Courts and Tribunals Bill earlier this month because she believes it still weakens the right to trial by jury.

“You’re not feeling you can’t do that or risk losing the whip,” she said.

Of course, Burnham’s appetite for disagreement hasn’t been fully put to the test.

He entered No. 10 at the start of the summer recess, when MPs were away from Westminster, and there was a month-long conference recess when they returned to SW1 in September.

And MPs don’t want a totally laissez-faire regime.

“I didn’t get into politics to sit in a room and just agree with each other,” said another 2024-intake Labour MP. “I don’t think you get good policy by just sitting around like nodding dogs.”

But they said they “genuinely believe in collective responsibility,” and are “quite relaxed” about the consequences of voting against the whip.

Another backbench MP warns Burnham’s lax approach can only last so long.

“Andy is riding high still, he is not in [Nigel] Farage or [Zack] Polanski territory, he can afford for people to go ‘I don’t like this.’ It’s when the shit hits the fan, and the public are saying they’re not happy, then you begin to find the political patience wears out,” that backbencher added.

Burnham may yet regret his promise that the whips office will act as an HR department, the MP said, “because you want them to come down like a clonking fist.”

2) Ministers are more visible

Burnham’s team is making itself seen, his MPs report.

Whips have been calling them to check in, and Burnham himself has attended PLP sub-group meetings. Cabinet ministers have also been available for meetings.

Though another Socialist Campaign Group MP admitted “it’s a very low bar” for improvement. “Under Starmer, there was very little in terms of consultations, any discussions about anything at all.”

Mainstream member Alex Sobel said: “I’ve had more meetings with No. 10 — I’ve been to No. 10 North — in these three months than the entire time of the previous administration.”

Bill Esterson, who chairs the Energy Security Committee, said he had “regular conversations with No. 10” and that Burnham’s team had “engaged very fully” with committee chairs and the PLP more broadly.

A second 2024 intake MP said: “There’s definitely more of a concerted attempt for them to be reaching out and listening to us.” The days of being viewed “as the legal necessity to get legislation through” are over.

3) Burnham’s political instincts

MPs reckon they’ve had an upgrade when it comes to raw political instincts.

“There’s a feeling that we’ve got a guy up front who we can get behind,” said Opher.

“He understands how politics works,” he added, citing the decision to delay approval for drilling at the Jackdaw gas field until after the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, where Labour faced a challenge from the Greens. “Andy’s much more savvy on what he’s doing.”

Backbenchers also claim to feel more confident they won’t get caught in the Starmer flip-flop policy trap.

The unnamed Socialist Campaign Group MP quoted above is still smarting over the “absolutely awful” two-child benefit cap vote, where rebels lost the whip only for it later to become government policy.

The first 2024-intake MP reckons Burnham is better able to communicate difficult trade-offs, like altering the triple lock to fund social care.

4) Voters are giving Labour another chance

It is ultimately Burnham’s popularity with the public that has fed into the positive mood.

Many Labour MPs “agreed with the punters on the doorstep” about Starmer’s inadequacies, Opher said. Data showing Labour has retaken the opinion poll lead from Reform UK has boosted their optimism. “It doesn’t feel like a party that is about to be ripped apart,” he added.

The first 2024 intake MP said: “It has given us the right to be heard,” said the first 2024-intake Labour MP quoted above. “People feel warmly towards Andy, which is half the battle. I think they trust his good intentions.”

Some flashpoints ahead…

1) The budget

Burnham can only coast on the good vibes for so long, and the first test of tough political choices comes Wednesday in the budget.

MPs on the left see the economic statement as a “crunch point” that will show if the chancellor will put his money where the PM’s mouth is.

“If there’s an attempt to take money from ordinary people who’ve got nothing and no attempt to get finances from people who have got far too much, then probably there will be some sort of opposition”, said the unnamed Socialist Campaign Group MP previously quoted. They hope to see the already trailed bank tax confirmed, or a wealth tax.

They warned that any decisions on what to cut and where to spend will pose “challenges from both sides of the PLP.”

“The measure of Andy Burnham is how he deals with it,” they added.

2) Welfare

Burnham wants to avoid a repeat of the botched attempt at welfare reform which severely weakened Starmer’s authority.

A long-awaited review by former Cabinet minister Alan Milburn into young people not in education, employment or training (NEETs) will be published shortly with recommendations.

Milburn — alongside Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden — has been trying to ensure communication is better.

“Pat has done an excellent job at building a consensus, rolling the carpet, setting out the argument, setting out the moral case, but he was doing that before the change of administration,” a third 2024-intake Labour MP said.

The second 2024 Labour MP quoted above said most colleagues “feel like it’s a decent stab at it and it’s not come out of the blue.” Reasonable critics “were just getting stonewalled” last year.

Esterson, who’s served in parliament since 2010, said regular engagement means “it’s not surprising that you get the benefit of the doubt far more often than if you don’t.”

3) Europe

Burnham’s admission that a future Labour manifesto could commit to a referendum on EU membership is already opening old Brexit wounds — and not in the way Labour wants.

The Socialist Campaign Group MP previously quoted is uneasy about its potential to spark further division. “It nearly ripped the country apart and I’m not sure if it’s the right thing to do [to] reignite that horribleness in each constituency,” they said.

The third 2024-intake Labour MP quoted above concurred. While people want a closer relationship with Europe, they believe rejoining is a “different kettle of fish” and jars with constituents who want “better public services and more economic growth” rather than continental renegotiations.

4) Energy

Energy policy has already become a flashpoint. The decision to approve the Jackdaw gas field was met with some dissent. A decision about the larger Rosebank oil and gas field is still looming.

Sobel told POLITICO’s London Playbook it “won’t make an impact on global prices and will give mixed messages in terms of investment in terms of both renewables and decarbonisation of home heating.”

Left-wing Labour MPs also signed a letter to Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh urging her to reject the licenses due to climate change. “Every second we continue pumping fossil fuels into the atmosphere makes the crisis more severe,” the letter organized by Chris Hinchliff said.

The second 2024-intake MP quoted thought ministers are acting in good faith.

“They’ve got one go at government and they seem to be doing their absolute best to give it a good whack,” they said.

Sam Blewett contributed reporting.

BRUSSELS — British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has expressed openness toward restarting free movement between the United Kingdom and the European Union as the two sides prepare for next month’s leaders’ summit.

A return to free movement would not be a red line for talks, he suggested, as immigration trends had changed since the U.K. voted to leave the EU in 2016. However, Burnham said he would not “jump to a firm position” on the issue just yet.

“Freedom of movement had very significant challenges associated with it and I spoke about them in my previous time in parliament,” he told the Sunday Times.

“But at the same time, it was a type of immigration that perhaps wasn’t as difficult [as now]. Revolving door migration where people would come and then go back is different. The balance of migration has changed, hasn’t it, since then? I think we’ve just got to have an honest discussion about those things.”

Burnham said at the Labour Party Conference in September that he is weighing different options for a reset of relations with the 27-country bloc.

He did not elaborate in his conference speech on the options he would present — but different figures within Labour have argued for joining the EU single market, the customs union, or rejoining the bloc wholesale. Rejoining the single market would require the U.K. to sign up to the EU’s rules permitting free movement of people.

His stance on freedom of movement marks a significant shift from the Labour Party’s 2024 manifesto, which ruled out a return to the single market, customs union or free movement, and comes one month ahead of a Nov. 20 summit where the EU and the U.K. hope to sign off on a set of agreements ranging from trade to climate regulations.

In his interview with the Sunday Times, he set out his own red lines, adding that he “can’t see myself ever recommending anything that would involve joining the euro or Schengen.”

LONDON — Brussels is proposing to extend negotiations on its core demand for cut-price tuition fees for EU students studying in the U.K. beyond next month’s leaders’ summit, as a package of deals nears completion, three EU diplomats with knowledge of the talks told POLITICO.

The European Commission on Wednesday presented the option to member countries of decoupling the tuition fee demand from the long-delayed U.K.-EU summit on Nov. 20.

A postponement would clear the way for a deal to be struck on other key elements of Britain’s “reset” with the bloc, including new agreements on agri-food trade, emissions trading, and a youth experience scheme.

The diplomats — all of whom were granted anonymity to speak freely about ongoing talks — said the proposal would involve asking the U.K. to commit to finalizing an agreement on tuition fees within six months. The proposal was first reported by the Financial Times.

The EU is pushing for European students to pay the domestic rate for tuition fees when studying at British universities, as they did before Brexit.

But one of the diplomats highlighted that the tuition fee demand was still part of a wider “package” linked to the other three agreements slated for the summit, and that the agreements would not enter into force until there was agreement on all areas. 

In addition, the diplomats confirmed that both sides were considering a joint summit statement on economic security, amid mounting U.K. concerns about the EU’s Made in Europe proposals.

Meanwhile, negotiations on a sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) deal — which would see the U.K. and EU align on agri-food standards — are close to completion, two of the diplomats said. The deal would include temporary arrangements for gene-edited plants and novel foods, such as lab-grown meat.

For gene-edited plants, the U.K. wants to keep its own rules until equivalent EU rules come into force, and has pledged not to change them in the meantime.

For novel foods, the U.K. would follow EU decisions to approve or reject products, but could set its own rules for products the EU has not yet assessed. In both cases, the products would be sold only in Great Britain and would not have access to the EU single market.

Dan Bloom contributed to this report

LONDON — Beijing has threatened to retaliate if the U.K. raises tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, aligning with the European Union.

Responding to POLITICO’s story that Britain was looking to act in “lockstep” with the bloc to counter China’s market dominance in electric cars, a spokesperson from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said: “If the U.K. insists on imposing restrictions on Chinese electric vehicles, China will resolutely retaliate and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese industries.”

The U.K. is currently working with its European partners to avoid a 10% electric vehicle tariff from the beginning of next year, when stricter rules of origin under the Brexit trade deal kick in. 

The British government is also lobbying to be included in the EU’s Made in Europe policies, which give Brussels-made products preferential treatment in certain procurement projects. 

U.K. Trade Minister Anas Sarwar told POLITICO on the sidelines of the German-British Business Summit at Mansion House last week that “the more that the U.K. and the EU work together and act in lockstep, the better it is for both the U.K. and the European Union.” 

“The automotive sector and partnership remain strong, but do we have to grapple with the challenge that comes from rapid expansion in China? Of course we do,” he added. 

China urged Britain to follow World Trade Organization rules and warned it against copying Brussels’ approach, arguing that tariffs on Chinese EVs would be discriminatory. 

“China urges the U.K. to abide by WTO rules, think carefully, and not follow the European Union,” said the Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson. “China will closely monitor the U.K.’s developments.”