In a remarkable turn of events, Andy Burnham returned to Parliament after Josh Simons, the MP for Makerfield, resigned his seat, allowing Burnham to contest and win the subsequent by-election. As a result of his return to the House of Commons, Burnham stepped down as Mayor of Greater Manchester. He then announced his intention to succeed Keir Starmer as Labour leader, secured the support of 349 Members of Parliament, making a vote within the Parliamentary Labour Party unnecessary, and earned the opportunity to meet the King and become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Burnham joined the Labour Party at the age of 14. While still a relatively young politician, he served as a minister in the governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. In recent years, he made several attempts to become leader of the Labour Party and he now arrives at the office of Prime Minister with charisma, experience and an ambitious programme, focused primarily on domestic affairs.
During the bitter controversy over Brexit, Burnham was among the most prominent opponents of leaving the European Union. He repeatedly warned of the damage that withdrawal would inflict on Britain's international standing, its economy and its labour market. Every one of his concerns and indeed more has proved justified. Britain's departure from the European Union was a profound mistake, driven by the short-term political calculations of Prime Minister David Cameron, who promised a referendum in 2016 in the hope of removing the issue from the agenda ahead of the forthcoming election.
Britain has since suffered a cumulative loss estimated at around 8 per cent of its expected GDP, accompanied by a marked decline in productivity, a sharp reduction in exports to EU member states and layers of bureaucracy that have weighed particularly heavily on small businesses. Agricultural and regional development programmes once financed by the European Union have lost their funding, while labour shortages in sectors such as healthcare and construction have had to be filled, in part, by workers from countries outside the European Union. Britain's once influential voice within the European Council, the European Parliament, and the European Commission has fallen silent. Calls for Scottish independence have grown stronger, while Northern Ireland has faced persistent tensions arising from unionist opposition to the economic arrangements created by Brexit. Thousands of additional civil servants have been recruited simply to manage the new administrative burdens, hardly the outcome envisioned by Brexit's supporters. Compared with the expectations of a decade ago, Britain has become poorer and less productive.
Yet after Brexit became a reality, Burnham's voice was largely absent from the national debate. Many of his "Red Wall" constituents, who had traditionally supported Labour, switched to the Conservatives in 2019 after Boris Johnson promised to deliver Brexit swiftly. Many worked in industries such as steel, textiles and coal mining. Fearing an influx of workers from elsewhere in the European Union, they supported Brexit. Burnham promised these voters that he would not seek to reopen the issue and he honoured that commitment.
In retrospect, it is difficult to overstate the damage that Brexit has inflicted, not only upon Britain but also upon Europe. The European Union has suffered as well, particularly France, Belgium, and Ireland. Losing a member state that holds a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, possesses nuclear capabilities and is home to one of the world's leading financial centres has been a considerable setback for the European Union. The reduction in the Union's budget has only compounded that loss.
The question now is whether Burnham, as Prime Minister, will continue merely to criticise Brexit while seeking to mitigate its consequences, or whether he will have the courage to reverse this historic mistake. He could choose to hold another referendum, but he is under no constitutional obligation to do so. The original referendum was advisory. Formally, the decision to leave the European Union was made by Parliament. If Burnham were to introduce legislation reversing Brexit, Parliament could approve it and there is a strong possibility that such a proposal would command a majority.
This will be the defining test of his leadership: whether he follows the convictions he has consistently expressed and removes a grave and unnecessary obstacle from Britain's future and Europe's or whether he remains bound by a promise made to voters who, in the end, gained little from Brexit.
History occasionally presents leaders with the rare opportunity to correct the course of their nations. Andy Burnham now faces such a moment. Reversing Brexit would require political courage, but great leadership has never been measured by the ease of decisions; it has been measured by the willingness to act when circumstances demand it.
By rebuilding Britain's partnership with Europe, Burnham could achieve something greater than the management of decline: he could restore confidence, renew Britain's global influence and leave behind a legacy as the Prime Minister who recognised that sovereignty in the twenty-first century is also strengthened through cooperation, not only isolation. The choice before him is therefore not merely about Brexit. It is about whether Britain looks back with regret or forward with ambition.
One hopes that he will choose the former. Time is of the essence.
