![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2237728298.jpg\")
\n Photo by Dan Kitwood\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
\n Photo by Dan Kitwood\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Andy Burnham has said he wants Britain to rejoin the European Union as he continues to speak loudly and freely at this year\u2019s Labour conference.<\/p>\n
At an event with the Guardian\u2019s Politics Weekly podcast this afternoon he made some pretty concrete proposals for what he would do if he were Prime Minister, despite continuing to deny claims that he wants the top job.<\/p>\n
The Manchester mayor said \u201cthe only thing I\u2019ve launched is a debate\u201d and then went on to declare that he believed Britain should go back into the EU in his lifetime. He also set out his priorities for a Budget, saying \u201cI would look very seriously at land value taxation\u201d and \u201cI would look at council tax revaluation\u201d as ways to raise revenue. Asked about Britain\u2019s role in Europe he said: \u201cLong term, I\u2019m going to say it, I want to rejoin. I hope in my lifetime I see this country rejoin the European Union.\u201d<\/p>\n
Burnham has more leeway to answer questions honestly than senior figures in the party who are bound by collective responsibility, which goes some way to explain his candidness. But the issues on which he chooses to be candid often seem to be those that put him in the good books of Labour members.<\/p>\n
Burnham also appeared to disagree with the Government\u2019s newly announced policy of mandatory digital ID cards to work in the UK. When asked if he supported the policy, Burnham paused and said: \u201cNot now.\u201d<\/p>\n
He explained his recent interventions, which began with a longform interview<\/a> in the New Statesman, as a desire to speak up for Labour politicians worried about the direction of the Government. Asked why he has started being so vocal about his disagreements with Keir Starmer, he said: \u201cI need to speak for the councillors in Greater Manchester who are worried about 2026,\u201d referring to the local elections next spring in which Labour is expected to do very badly.<\/p>\n He also condemned what he described as the \u201cfactional\u201d running of the party, specifically taking aim at the deselection of candidates who had, for example, liked tweets supportive of the Green Party. This seemed to be a direct reference to the deselection of Faiza Shaheen in Chingford and Wood Green at last year\u2019s election.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/dl6pgk4f88hky.cloudfront.net\/2021\/09\/TNS_master_logo.svg\"){kind=logo}
<\/a><\/p>\n