The leaders of France and Spain have said they would support Britain returning to the European Union after Andy Burnham said he would consider “all options” for future relations between the UK and Europe.
French president Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that if Britain decided to rejoin the European Union it would be "excellent news" and "a good decision".
His comments were made during a joint press conference with Spain's prime minister Pedro Sanchez, who said Spain would welcome Britain back in the EU "with open arms".
It comes after Mr Burnham said he is open to reversing Brexit, insisting he could go “all the way” in proposing to rejoin the European Union.
The prime minister, who has blamed Brexit for a decade of drift and division, declared it was “not good enough” simply to leave the issue “hanging”.
Asked whether he wanted the UK to rejoin the bloc, he told the BBC’s Today programme he wanted to look at the “pros and cons” of all options regarding the UK’s future relationship with Brussels.
One of the options was to “go all the way” and resume full membership.
Despite welcoming Mr Burnham’s comments, Macron warned there would be no halfway house on membership requirements.
"As for Great Britain, when it wants to re-engage with us, being on the outside poses a problem: you cannot pick and choose among the Union's freedoms, nor can you decide to take only what suits you while rejecting the rest," he said.
In his first Labour Party conference speech as leader, the prime minister said Britain’s decision to leave the EU had done “more harm than good” and promised to set out the options to the country around the time of a UK-EU summit later this year.
Labour’s election manifesto in 2024 ruled out joining a customs union, going back into the single market or allowing the return of freedom of movement with the EU.
But Mr Burnham has indicated he is prepared to recommend going beyond those red lines in future.
“There are clearly options that need to be considered, and we have to look at what is doable and what would be the pros and cons of each,” he told the BBC.
Mr Burnham said another possibility was to back the call by former Tory Chancellor George Osborne to rejoin the EU Customs Union - a call made by Osborne on an interview with The Independent earlier this month.
“We could stay as we are. That’s definitely an option, if people think this is the right place to stay,” he told the programme.
“We could look at what George Osborne has said about a customs union, we could look at what the Liberal Democrats said at their conference about the single market or we could go all the way.”
Mr Osborne told The Independent that Brexit “has been a mess” and that while returning to the EU would be difficult, rejoining the customs union would help alleviate some of the pressure on the UK economy.
Mr Burnham’s move was immediately criticised by the Conservatives who accused him of trying to “reopen old wounds by restarting the battles of the Brexit years.”
Former Tory cabinet minister Michael Gove, who led the campaign to leave the EU alongside former PM Boris Johnson, said going back on Brexit would “drive frustration” among the public with British politicians because it would mean returning power over key policy decisions to Brussels.
Mr Burnham’s comments follow a series of opinion polls on the issue in the last 12 months which suggest voters believe Brexit has not worked and that a second referendum could result in a vote to rejoin.
The Independent has led the campaign for Britain to rebuild its relationship with Brussels on the basis of clear evidence that it has damaged the economy and failed to deliver promised benefits on a wide range of issues including immigration.
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