Burnham vows not to re-run Brexit as Labour faces EU row

Andy Burnham tried to draw a line under the Brexit row in Leeds, saying he respects Brexit and does not want to "re-run" the argument, even as Keir Starmer pushed an EU reset that is making Labour’s balance on Europe harder to hold.

Starmer said the government’s planned summit would take Britain closer to Europe and described the relationship as heading for a "really important leap forward". A Downing Street spokesman also did not rule out a future Labour pledge to rejoin the EU, a signal that has unsettled figures in Brexit-voting areas and sharpened the sense that Europe is again testing party discipline.

The pressure matters because Labour is still trying to calibrate its post-Brexit message without reopening the divide that split British politics for years. Burnham’s intervention was aimed at calming that tension. Speaking at the Great North summit, he said Britain would be "stuck in a permanent rut" if it kept arguing about the referendum, a line that framed Brexit as settled territory rather than an argument Labour should relitigate.

That balancing act is complicated by Burnham’s own political ambitions. He has been linked with a return to Parliament through a by-election in Makerfield, a Leave-supporting constituency, and he told Labour conference in 2025 that he hoped the UK would rejoin the EU in his lifetime. Allies now say he is not planning to "go big on Europe" in his pitch to voters, a sign that the immediate priority is not revival of the old pro-EU argument but managing its electoral risks.

Labour has also been sounding out senior figures, including local government leaders in Brexit-voting areas, over whether Starmer should abandon his red lines on rejoining the customs union or single market. That debate goes to the heart of how far Labour can move toward Brussels without alarming voters in towns and seats that backed Leave.

The same day’s front pages also carried the King and Queen’s annual visit to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, where Charles toured the RHS and The King’s Foundation Curious Garden with Sir David Beckham and Alan Titchmarsh. The show runs from 19 May to 23 May 2026, and the garden, designed by Frances Tophill, is meant to encourage curiosity about gardening and show the role plants play in the health of people, places and the planet.

The garden, backed by the charity Charles founded in 1990, includes apprentices and trainees from both the foundation and the RHS. Sky News said the display featured three rose varieties, including roses named after Charles, Beckham and Titchmarsh, while the hut contained gnomes, artwork, hanging plants, yarn, honey and vodka. Other royals at Chelsea on Monday evening included the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the Princess Royal and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.