Streeting and Burnham back EU rejoin debate as Labour faces pressure

Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham have pushed Brexit back into Labour’s internal argument, with both men signalling that a future Labour leader could reopen the question of EU membership if the political cost looks worth paying. Streeting told a Progress think-tank conference on 16 May 2026 that Britain should rejoin the European Union, calling Brexit a “catastrophic” mistake and warning that Labour risks becoming the “handmaidens of Nigel Farage and the breakup of the United Kingdom” if it shies away from the biggest issues.

Burnham, who is trying to return to Westminster through the Makerfield by-election, has taken a more cautious line but moved in the same direction. He said at Labour conference in 2024 that he hoped to see the UK rejoin the bloc in his lifetime, and told ITV News on 16 May 2026 that there is “in the long term” a case for rejoining the EU, while adding that he was “not advocating that in this by-election”. Sources close to him say he would seek a fresh mandate before trying to reverse Brexit and that domestic issues come first.

The debate matters because it cuts across Labour’s official position. The party’s foreign-policy line says Britain will stay outside the EU while pursuing an improved and ambitious relationship with European partners. In practice, a rejoin push would force Labour to spell out where it stands on trade, migration and regulation, and whether closer alignment with Brussels is a political risk worth taking if it helps rebuild credibility with voters in urban, pro-European and younger parts of the electorate.

Burnham’s route back into Parliament is also politically fraught. He is currently ineligible to challenge for Labour leader because he is not an MP, but that would change if he wins Makerfield. Any leadership challenge would still need the backing of at least 81 Labour MPs, a high bar in a party where Keir Starmer’s authority remains tied to discipline and caution on Europe.

Makerfield, in the North West of England, was won by Labour at the 2024 general election with Josh Simons taking the seat on a majority of 5,399 and a turnout of 52.5%. The by-election follows Andrew Gwynne’s resignation from Gorton & Denton on 23 January 2026, after which Labour lost that seat to the Greens, a reminder of how quickly the party’s vote can fray. Reform UK is expected to make Burnham’s comments a central attack line in Makerfield, with the words already set to feature in campaign leaflets. Against that backdrop, Brexit is re-emerging in Labour not as a referendum slogan, but as a test of whether the party wants to govern cautiously or argue for a more explicit break with the settlement it inherited.