Sadiq Khan has urged Andy Burnham to begin preparing Britain to rejoin the European Union, as Ed Miliband used his Labour conference speech to call for a “stronger and deeper” partnership with Europe.
The London mayor said the government should start making the case now rather than waiting until the next general election.
Speaking at Labour conference in Liverpool, Khan said: “We’ve got to start the work now.”
He argued that Labour could not simply produce a pledge shortly before polling day and expect voters to accept it without years of argument beforehand.
His intervention came as Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told delegates that Britain’s economic, defence and security interests depended on working more closely with the EU.
Miliband said Europe was “not just our geography but so much more” and told conference that the UK’s future lay in a “stronger, deeper partnership with the European Union”.
Neither Burnham nor the government has committed to taking Britain back into the EU.
But the subject is now being discussed much more openly inside Labour.
Khan says Labour needs to start making the case
Khan told the i Paper that supporters of rejoining could not wait until another election campaign before trying to change public opinion.
“The heavy lifting, the pitch-rolling must be done now,” he said.
He wants ministers to spend the coming years explaining what he sees as the disadvantages of Brexit and the benefits of EU membership.
Khan has long backed closer ties with Europe, but his latest comments go beyond calls for a better trade relationship.
He is explicitly arguing that the government should prepare for Britain to become a member again.
Tony Blair has also recently called for Britain to commit to returning to a reformed EU within the next decade.
The former prime minister wants a more structured relationship with Brussels and has criticised the slower approach taken under Keir Starmer.
Labour MP Stella Creasy has added to that pressure.
Creasy, who chairs the Labour Movement for Europe, said Burnham does not have enough time to wait until the next election before taking action and argued that the government has months rather than years to begin moving.
Miliband: Britain’s future lies in a deeper EU partnership
Miliband stopped short of calling for Britain to rejoin.
Instead, he used his speech to argue for closer cooperation across trade, security, defence and foreign policy.
He told delegates:
“Europe is not just our geography, but so much more.”
Miliband said Britain needed European partners to pursue its interests on issues ranging from trade and defence to climate policy and the Middle East.
He then told conference:
“Our future lies in a stronger, deeper partnership with the European Union.”
That is still different from calling for membership.
The government has not dropped the existing policy which rules out returning to the single market or customs union.
But the language coming from senior Labour figures has become noticeably more pro-European than it was under Starmer.
Burnham has refused to rule out rejoining
Burnham has already been asked directly whether Labour could include a pledge to rejoin the EU in its next election manifesto.
He did not rule it out.
The Prime Minister has also blamed Brexit for what he described as a loss of cooperation with neighbouring countries and has promised a “new direction” after a decade he said had involved too much “drift” and “division”.
Speaking at the start of conference, Burnham said:
“We need to set out a new direction for the country.”
He is expected to say more about that direction in his conference speech on Tuesday.
His government is already dealing with practical problems created by Britain’s position outside the EU.
Burnham has been lobbying Brussels over the EU’s planned “Made in Europe” industrial policy, which could favour goods produced inside the bloc when governments award contracts or subsidies.
British manufacturers, particularly carmakers, are concerned that UK companies could be excluded despite supply chains being closely linked with European factories.
Burnham has asked for Britain to be treated as a trusted partner.
That is one reason the debate is no longer limited to arguments about the 2016 referendum.
There are decisions being made in Brussels now which could directly affect British industry.
Labour has not adopted a rejoin policy
For all the speculation, Labour’s position has not formally changed.
The government has not announced plans for another referendum and has not committed to seeking EU membership.
Rejoining would also involve negotiations with the EU and its member states rather than simply restoring Britain’s old arrangements.
Questions over freedom of movement, budget contributions, regulation and access to the single market would all return.
There is opposition inside the labour movement too.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham has warned that an outright rejoin campaign may not appeal to some workers who supported Brexit, even while backing improved trade with Europe.
Labour therefore faces the same political problem it has had for years.
Many of its members and voters want closer ties with Europe, while some of the constituencies it needs to hold contain large numbers of people who backed Leave.
What has changed is how openly senior figures are talking about the possibility.
Khan wants the government to start preparing for membership.
Blair wants Britain back inside a reformed EU within a decade.
Creasy says the work needs to start soon.
Miliband wants a much deeper relationship.
Burnham, so far, has left the door open.
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