Andy Burnham, the frontrunner to replace Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister, poses a serious threat to the future of Brexit, according to Vote Leave founder Lord Elliott. The Tory peer, who led the official campaign for the 2016 referendum, warned that left-wing parties such as the Greens and Liberal Democrats will push Labour toward rejoining the European Union if Burnham enters Downing Street.
Burnham's EU Stance Under Scrutiny
Lord Elliott highlighted Burnham's past comments expressing a desire to see the UK back in the EU within his lifetime. Although Burnham has since softened that position during his Makerfield by-election campaign, Elliott argued that the mayor's personal beliefs remain unchanged. "It will be interesting to see what he tries to do as prime minister," Elliott said, noting that Burnham is likely aware his constituency leans toward Leave.
Elliott expressed concern about the trajectory set by Starmer, who had already initiated steps toward closer EU ties through dynamic alignment and the EU reset Bill. "That does worry me because, of course, with the dynamic alignment, that essentially means that we become a single market rule-taker rather than making the rules ourselves," he explained.
Bidding War on the Left
Lord Elliott predicted a "bidding war" among left-leaning parties to pull Labour toward a rejoin position. "I think we'll start to see a bidding war with parties on the Left of British politics – the Green Party and the Lib Dems – to pull the Labour Party towards a rejoin position," he said. This would effectively turn the next election into a "re-run of the Brexit referendum," with right-wing parties advocating for full Brexit and left-wing parties pushing for varying degrees of EU reintegration.
Despite polls suggesting a majority of Britons now support rejoining the EU, Elliott dismissed the idea that voters would back such a move if presented with the full implications. "If you drill down on that polling and say to them you'd likely have to join the euro, Britain would have to be part of the Schengen Area, we wouldn't have the rebate so our membership fee would be about £28 billion a year, when you point out to them the downsides of rejoining, what we'd have to sign up to, it swings right in favour of stay out," he asserted.
Brexit Achievements and Missed Opportunities
Lord Elliott defended the success of Brexit, citing the UK's regained sovereignty over policymaking and the end of EU membership fees, now estimated at £28 billion annually without the rebate. He also highlighted trade deals with Asia-Pacific countries and the EU's imposition of 40,000 new regulations since Brexit, which the UK has avoided. However, he acknowledged that more could be done to leverage Brexit freedoms, particularly by scrapping the Habitats Directive, which he said is hindering housebuilding and economic development.
"It's now the UK Parliament in charge of UK policy-making, that's what Brexit was all about," Elliott said. "On top of that, we're not paying the membership fee of the EU, which would now be about £28 billion a year without the rebate. And we've got some significant trade deals, not least with the Asia-Pacific countries."
Burnham's Path to Power
Burnham, the former Greater Manchester mayor, is poised to enter 10 Downing Street within weeks following Starmer's resignation. During his by-election campaign, Burnham insisted that the Brexit debate should not be "re-run," but his earlier statements have raised alarm among Brexit supporters. Lord Elliott's new book, Ten Years On: The Untold Story of Brexit, published on June 23 by Biteback Publishing, delves into these issues.
The warning comes as Burnham prepares to take the helm of a Labour government that has already begun moving closer to the EU under Starmer. Elliott's comments underscore the deep divisions over Brexit that continue to shape British politics, with the next election potentially reigniting the referendum battle.
