Britain Seeks to Rejoin the European Union

In the 2016 referendum, Britain voted by a narrow margin to leave the European Union (EU). As feared, the decision slowed the growth of trade and business transactions. As external demand declined, production also fell. Unemployment rose, and gross domestic product (GDP) suffered a major setback. A decade later, the British public has come to realize that Brexit was a historic mistake. Recent opinion polls suggest that if another referendum were held today, British voters would decisively support rejoining the European Union.

Two years ago, Britain’s Labour Party came to power with a sweeping majority. Prime Minister Keir Starmer had recognized the public’s desire to revisit relations with the EU, but the Labour Party’s election manifesto explicitly ruled out rejoining the bloc. This was a pledge Starmer could not break. Nevertheless, he took steps to facilitate trade with the EU in certain essential goods. His successor, Andy Burnham, has been much more outspoken about the need to restore closer ties with the European Union.

Recently, speaking in the House of Commons, the lower house of the British Parliament, Burnham said that a UK-EU summit would be held on November 20 to explore possibilities for future relations. He said, “If we are serious about accelerating economic growth, controlling immigration, and protecting our values and security, this is a conversation we must pursue.” He emphasized, “Our immediate priority is to secure a successful outcome from this summit, and I believe that afterwards we should begin serious discussions about the different options for a long-term relationship.”

Burnham has maintained Starmer’s position that Britain will not rejoin the European Union before the next general election, scheduled for 2029. However, Burnham has the option of calling an early election to accelerate the process. Signaling this possibility, he said, “At every step, the British people will come first, and I am confident that public opinion currently supports the pragmatic approach I am proposing.”

On that fateful day in June 2016, when Britain decided to leave the European Union, older voters, white working-class communities, and a section of British Indians played an important role in determining the outcome. Meanwhile, young people, confident that the decision to remain in the EU was a foregone conclusion, stayed home celebrating rather than turning out to vote. Today, they are deeply disappointed because they can no longer travel freely between EU countries and must stand in long queues at European airports. Consequently, they are eager to return to the previous system, which, by all indications, European countries would also welcome.

Immigration remains one of Britain’s most contentious issues. The rapidly growing support for the far-right Reform UK party is largely based on its opposition to allowing foreigners into the country. When asked in Parliament whether the British administration had become less capable of controlling its borders, Burnham replied, “When it comes to controlling immigration, our position today is considerably weaker than it was exactly ten years ago.”

One major reason is that, following Brexit, Britain lost access to the Eurodac database, which stores the biometric data of asylum seekers. Reform UK, which was operating under the name Brexit Party at the time, strongly opposed the free movement of people, a principle that every EU member state is required to respect. The issue remains highly sensitive in Britain today. That is why Burnham was directly asked in the House of Commons whether he would confirm that freedom of movement would not be restored. He replied, “We will have to examine the options available for a long-term relationship.”

On the question of Britain’s reintegration with the European Union, Reform UK has increasingly adopted a defensive position. The party knows that, beyond its most hard-line supporters, its former stance has lost much of its credibility. Burnham understands that British citizens want relief from economic hardship and have almost reached the conclusion that rejoining the European Union may be the solution. According to a study by the consultancy firm Frontier Economics, closer integration with the EU could increase Britain’s GDP by between 2.5 and 3.6 percent over the long term. A new framework for relations between Britain and the European Union therefore appears increasingly likely, although it is still difficult to predict exactly what the new arrangement would look like.