Burnham Handed a Plan to Rejoin the Single Market
Andy Burnham has been presented with a blueprint proposing that Britain rejoin the European single market, according to reports, reviving a debate the main parties have long avoided. The plan, drawn up by outside advocates rather than the government, sketches a route to far closer economic ties with the European Union. Downing Street has not adopted it, and any such move would be politically explosive.
Rejoining the single market would mean accepting the EU’s rules and, most likely, freedom of movement — a step no recent British government has been willing to contemplate, however much some argue it would boost growth. That the idea has been put to Mr Burnham reflects a growing push from those who believe Brexit has hurt the economy and that the political ground may be shifting. But the Prime Minister, wary of reopening Brexit’s wounds and losing voters to Reform, is unlikely to embrace it. The plan is a proposal, not policy. Watch whether the government engages with closer EU ties short of the single market.