Burnham told reporters that his upcoming speech to the UN General Assembly would reflect on the decade since the Brexit vote, highlighting that turbulence arises when outside actors seek to manipulate, distort facts, and influence the British democratic process.
“Going into the next decade, we need to be clear-eyed about that and become stronger and more proactive about challenging it,” he stated.
When asked if he would rule out making a pledge to rejoin the EU at the next general election, Burnham emphasized that the current focus is on securing a highly anticipated UK-EU summit later this year.
“My immediate priority is to build on the good work Keir Starmer has done in rebuilding bridges, which were severely fractured in the early part of this decade,” he explained.
He added that the key objective is to elevate relations to the next level by securing practical agreements that will further boost the British economy. “These practical issues, alongside EU requests regarding youth mobility, will form the substance of the summit,” he noted.
He clarified that questions regarding potential rejoining of the EU are matters for “another day.”
Meanwhile, speaking at the Liberal Democrat conference in Brighton, the EU’s new ambassador to the UK, Jukka Salovaara, was asked about the possibility of the UK rejoining the EU or obtaining associate membership status.
Salovaara responded, “The doors are open, but it is ultimately up to the UK public to determine and decide on its level of ambition regarding deeper cooperation with the EU.”
It was last September that Burnham expressed his desire to see the UK rejoin the EU within his lifetime.
Earlier this year, he described Brexit as “damaging” but asserted that “the last thing we should do right now is re-run those arguments.”
The European Union recently proposed that Canada could become the bloc’s first “associate member.”
When asked if a similar arrangement could be an option for the UK, Burnham stated, “The European Union made it clear that this was not open to us.”
Additional reporting by Brian Wheeler