Andy Burnham Brexit plan has come under renewed scrutiny after former Labour government adviser Ben Judah urged the prime minister to consider a snap general election centred on reversing Brexit and eventually rejoining the European Union.
Judah, who served as a special adviser to Foreign Secretary David Lammy until earlier this year, argued that Mr Burnham should reconsider his apparent decision to rule out an early election and use Europe as a defining issue.
However, Judah’s proposal is his own political assessment rather than government policy. Downing Street has instead pointed to Mr Burnham’s stated priority of rebuilding Britain’s relationship with European Union allies.
Ben Judah calls for snap election
Writing in an interview with The Independent, Judah argued that Mr Burnham could pursue what he described as a “reverse Johnson” strategy by making eventual EU membership the government’s long-term objective.
“I think he can pull off a kind of reverse Johnson, and I think that the key thing is to make rejoining the European Union the ultimate objective,” Judah said.
His argument comes as Mr Burnham prepares for his first Labour Party annual conference as prime minister, with the event scheduled to take place in Liverpool from September 27 to September 30.
Mr Burnham has been discussing a “new direction” for Britain after what he described as a decade of “drift and division” following the Brexit vote.
Speaking as he arrived at the Labour conference, he said: “We have had a decade since Brexit, and it has been a decade of too much drift and too much division. We need to draw a line on that.”
He added: “We need to set out a new direction for the country and I will set that out on Tuesday.”
Burnham leaves future EU policy open
The debate follows Mr Burnham’s earlier refusal to completely rule out a commitment to rejoin the EU in a future Labour manifesto.
At the same time, Downing Street has stressed that the government’s immediate approach is focused on rebuilding relations with the European Union rather than announcing an immediate return to membership.
The distinction is significant because closer cooperation with the EU can involve several different stages, including changes to the customs relationship, single-market arrangements or other forms of cooperation without necessarily amounting to full membership.
Judah proposed precisely such a phased approach.
Former adviser proposes two-stage return
Judah said Labour could first seek closer economic arrangements with Europe before pursuing full EU membership.
“Now, that first step could be they want to go back into the customs union or the single market, or they want to go back fully straight away. But I think it should be in two stages,” he said.
He argued that a formal long-term objective of EU membership would give Labour a framework for explaining its approach to trade, manufacturing and economic growth.
Judah specifically linked closer European economic integration to Britain’s manufacturing sector, arguing that access to the single market would be important to the government’s industrial ambitions.
He said Labour should explain to voters that the country would struggle to achieve its reindustrialisation objectives without access to the European single market.
These are Judah’s political and economic arguments, rather than established government policy or an independent assessment of the likely consequences of rejoining the EU.
Brexit debate returns to Labour conference
The renewed argument over Brexit comes 10 years after the 2016 referendum and as support for closer European ties has become a prominent issue within parts of Labour.
Former prime minister Tony Blair has also urged Mr Burnham to commit Britain to returning to the EU within the next decade, while calling for a new approach to post-Brexit relations.
The Guardian reported earlier this week that Blair was pressing for Britain to work towards EU membership within 10 years.
A Labour Movement for Europe rally is also scheduled during the party conference, with Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband expected to address supporters of closer European integration.
The timing ensures that the question of Brexit will feature prominently in discussions surrounding Labour’s future European policy.
Economic arguments remain contested
Judah also connected his proposal to Britain’s public finances and borrowing costs.
He argued that financial markets could respond positively if Britain established a clear plan for restoring closer economic ties with Europe, including eventual access to the single market.
“If the markets believed that we were going back into the European Union, and we had a plan to do so, and we were going to, before that, get back into the single market, get that trade going up, our gilts would go down, and our debt interest would go down,” he said.
He further argued that lower debt-interest costs could reduce pressure on future government budgets.
However, these claims represent Judah’s assessment of potential market and fiscal effects. They should not be presented as an established forecast of how financial markets would respond to a future EU policy.
Judah warns against delaying Europe debate
The former adviser said Mr Burnham risked repeating what he described as mistakes made by the previous Labour government under Keir Starmer.
“I’m quite frightened that we could see history repeat itself in the Burnham government, like it did in the Starmer government,” Judah said.
He argued that Europe could again be placed in what he called the “too difficult” category before economic pressures eventually forced the government to deepen relations with the EU.
“And to only start talking about that when it’s much too late diplomatically and politically, and their authority has been shot,” he added.
Judah acknowledged that making rejoining the EU a central political objective would carry risks.
“My view is that the risks of not doing so are in fact greater,” he said, while warning that delaying the issue could create difficulties later in the government’s electoral cycle.
Government position remains focused on EU relations
Downing Street responded to Judah’s intervention by pointing to Mr Burnham’s recent comments about Britain’s relationship with Europe.
The prime minister has left open the possibility of a future Labour manifesto commitment on EU membership while saying his immediate priority is to rebuild bridges with European allies.
That position leaves room for closer cooperation without establishing that the government has committed itself to reversing Brexit.
The Labour Party’s annual conference in Liverpool is therefore likely to provide a significant opportunity for Mr Burnham to clarify his approach to Britain’s post-Brexit relationship with Europe.
The Labour Party says its 2026 conference will run from Sunday September 27 through Wednesday September 30, with Mr Burnham’s leader’s speech scheduled for Tuesday.
Snap election remains a separate question
Judah’s proposal also links Brexit policy to the question of whether Mr Burnham should call an early general election.
The prime minister has appeared to reject the idea of going to the polls early, despite continuing speculation about the government’s electoral strategy.
A YouGov poll cited by The Independent suggested a hung Parliament, while Judah argued that a clearly defined European strategy could alter the political landscape. His claim that Labour could secure a large majority is an attributed prediction, not an established electoral outcome.
For now, the government’s publicly stated position centres on rebuilding relations with the EU, while the wider Labour debate is increasingly focused on how far that relationship should go.
The Andy Burnham Brexit plan will therefore be closely watched as Labour begins its conference, particularly as senior figures including Blair and Judah press for a more ambitious European strategy.
The immediate question is not simply whether Britain should reconsider Brexit, but what form closer European relations would take, how quickly they could be pursued and whether the government intends to make EU membership an eventual objective.
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