Tony Blair Calls for Britain to Rejoin EU Within a Decade

Published: 24 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online.

Former British prime minister Tony Blair has called for Britain to work towards rejoining the European Union within the next decade, putting the question of EU membership back at the centre of Labour’s political debate and increasing pressure on Prime Minister Andy Burnham over the party’s long-term approach to Brexit.

Blair’s intervention comes a decade after the 2016 referendum in which Britain voted to leave the European Union. His argument is set out in a new paper from the Tony Blair Institute, which proposes that the UK should pursue a structured process aimed at rebuilding its relationship with Europe and, ultimately, creating the possibility of returning to the bloc under substantially revised conditions.

The proposal represents a significant shift from the cautious approach Labour has maintained towards EU membership since the Brexit referendum. Burnham has previously expressed a personal hope that Britain could one day rejoin the European Union, but since becoming prime minister he has emphasised rebuilding practical relations with European governments rather than immediately reopening the question of membership.

When asked recently whether Labour could promise to seek EU membership in its next election manifesto, Burnham declined to rule it out, describing the question as one for another day. His immediate focus, he has said, is on repairing relations with European partners and strengthening cooperation following years of political and economic tension caused by Brexit.

Blair’s new intervention goes considerably further. The paper argues that Britain should signal an intention to enter negotiations with the EU if suitable terms could be established, while avoiding any assumption that an eventual agreement would be guaranteed. It presents negotiations as a process in which different aspects of Britain’s relationship with Europe could be discussed before either side commits to a final arrangement.

The Tony Blair Institute has argued that Britain should work over the next decade towards the ambition of rejoining a reformed European Union. Its proposal includes accepting some of the obligations that would accompany membership, including free movement and a financial contribution to the EU budget.

The paper also suggests that Britain could use the prospect of eventual membership as leverage in encouraging reforms within the European Union itself. According to the institute, Britain could seek greater economic flexibility within the bloc, including reforms involving energy, technology and regulation. The proposal therefore presents rejoining not simply as a restoration of the pre-Brexit relationship but as part of a broader attempt to reshape Britain’s place within Europe.

The debate places Burnham in a politically sensitive position. Labour has spent years attempting to move beyond the divisions created by the Brexit referendum, while the party continues to face competing views among voters about Britain’s relationship with the European Union.

Some Labour figures have already argued publicly for a much closer relationship with Europe. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has previously described Brexit in strongly negative terms and supported the idea of Britain eventually rejoining the EU. Burnham himself has also previously said that he hoped to see Britain return to the European Union during his lifetime. Those statements, however, have not translated into an immediate government policy of seeking membership.

Other senior Labour figures have taken a more cautious position. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has previously warned against reopening the political arguments surrounding Brexit, reflecting concerns that another major debate over EU membership could revive divisions that have shaped British politics for much of the past decade.

The question is also connected to Labour’s electoral strategy, although available polling should not be treated as a prediction of a future election result. A YouGov survey commissioned by the pro-European campaign group Best for Britain questioned more than 13,000 people between late May and early June 2026, before Burnham became Labour leader and prime minister. Its modelling examined several possible Labour positions on Britain’s relationship with the EU, ranging from closer cooperation to seeking full membership.

Best for Britain reported that its modelling produced a substantially larger projected parliamentary seat total for Labour under an EU membership pledge than under the party’s existing Brexit red lines. The organisation reported a modelled figure of 321 seats under a commitment to seek EU membership, compared with 136 under the then-current approach. These were scenario estimates based on polling conducted before Burnham became prime minister, rather than forecasts of an actual future election outcome.

The polling also found considerable support for EU membership among some progressive voters. A separate analysis of the same research reported that majorities of current Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green supporters selected EU membership as the relationship they most wanted the British government to propose.

At the same time, the political implications are contested. Critics of an immediate move towards rejoining the EU argue that Labour could face resistance in communities where support for Brexit remains significant and where Reform UK has expanded its presence. They also point to the political significance of the 2016 referendum and the risk that reopening the membership question could return Brexit to the centre of national political conflict.

For Burnham, the immediate challenge is therefore not simply whether Britain should eventually rejoin the EU, but how far his government should move towards that objective and at what stage. The government has been pursuing closer practical cooperation with Brussels while maintaining distinctions between partnership and full membership.

That distinction has become increasingly important as economic and industrial issues expose the practical consequences of Britain’s position outside the EU. Britain remains closely connected to European supply chains, particularly in sectors such as automotive manufacturing. Burnham has recently sought cooperation with the EU over its proposed “Made in Europe” industrial policies, expressing concern about the effect of rules favouring EU-produced goods on British manufacturers.

The debate also extends beyond trade. Questions involving defence, energy, technology, migration and regulatory standards have all become part of the wider discussion about Britain’s relationship with Europe. Blair’s proposal argues that a future British government should be prepared to consider these areas together rather than treating EU relations as a narrow question of tariffs or market access.

The former prime minister’s position nevertheless goes beyond the government’s current emphasis on rebuilding ties. His institute argues that Labour should remove several existing policy restrictions, including opposition to returning to the single market, customs union and free movement. Instead, it proposes a broader principle under which Britain would consider European rules and initiatives according to their economic or strategic value.

Any eventual attempt to rejoin the EU would also require negotiations with the European Union itself. Membership would involve conditions, obligations and institutional arrangements that would have to be agreed between Britain and the bloc. Blair’s proposal therefore does not suggest that rejoining could happen simply through a unilateral British decision.

The political debate is consequently likely to develop gradually. Burnham is expected to set out his government’s longer-term direction in a 10-year plan in November, and the question of Britain’s European future could become part of that discussion. Whether he chooses to endorse an eventual membership objective, maintain the existing distinction between cooperation and membership, or leave the question open remains unresolved.

For Blair, however, the direction is clear. He is arguing that Britain should not regard the Brexit settlement as permanently fixed and should instead prepare for a future in which closer European integration, including possible EU membership, is again considered a legitimate national policy objective.

A decade after the referendum, the issue has therefore returned to British politics in a different form. The immediate question is no longer whether the 2016 decision can simply be reversed, but whether a future government should begin preparing for a fundamentally different relationship with Europe and what conditions would accompany it.

For Burnham and Labour, the debate will involve competing considerations over economic cooperation, migration, sovereignty, electoral politics and Britain’s wider international position. For the European Union, any British attempt to return would also raise questions about the terms of membership and the reforms that Blair’s institute says should accompany such a process.

The discussion is still at an early stage. No decision has been made by the British government to seek EU membership, and Burnham has not committed Labour to including such a promise in its next manifesto. What has changed is that senior Labour figures are once again openly discussing the possibility, while Blair has placed a specific decade-long timeframe around the idea.

Ten years after Britain voted to leave, the question of Europe has consequently begun another chapter in British political debate, with the future direction of that relationship now likely to become an increasingly important issue for Labour, its supporters and the wider electorate