Andy Burnham promises ‘serious dialogue’ over UK’s relationship with EU
I keep coming back to the phrase “clear-eyed rational look,” because that’s exactly what the UK has been avoiding for a decade. Burnham framing the summit as a possible first step to membership is bold, and probably premature, but it’s the first time a senior figure has said the quiet part out loud: Brexit is a process, not an event, and the relationship can keep evolving.
The tension over trade is the obvious snag. Brussels won’t hand over single market benefits without the obligations that come with them, and immigration is the political tripwire that keeps snapping shut every time someone mentions free movement. So I’d want to know what Burnham actually means by “serious dialogue” — is it a real negotiation, or just a more polite way of managing the same awkward distance?
Either way, this matters because it breaks the taboo. The UK’s place in Europe is no longer a settled fact but a live question again, and that alone changes the conversation.