UK PM believes that Brexit ‘has done more harm than good’ and promises to redefine UK's relationship with the EU

Speaking to the party conference on Tuesday 29 September the Labour leader framed the UK’s exit from the EU as part of a broader critique of the direction the country has taken in the last 10 years.

“We will be a Britain again confident of our place in the world. It has changed dramatically since 2016 and in the spirit of this speech, we have to be honest, Brexit hasn’t given us control," he said during the speech which lasted just over an hour.

Ten years after the referendum, Burnham directly questioned one of the key campaign promises for leaving the EU: regaining control. “We have lost some of the control we had over our economy, because a decade of low growth has left us in a weaker position, and we have lost some of our control over immigration," he stated.

The PM also maintained that the United Kingdom will not be able to set a clear course for the coming decades until it decides what its long-term relationship with the EU, which remains its largest market, should be.

"I will take the opportunity around the summit to lay out to you, to lay out to the country, what I believe the different options are for Britain’s long-term relationship with our European partners," he stated, adding, "And there are different options. And I will see if we can find consensus around one which will give us clarity about our position, and the future of the continent we live in."

Although he did not specify what those alternatives would be during his speech, speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Wednesday 30 September, the prime minister said, "The country cannot have another decade like the last," and went on to consider four possible options: "stay as we are," was one, "go all the way," was another, suggesting rejoining the EU, or looking for a middle ground, hinting at the possibility of rejoining the single market and or customs union.

He referred to the forthcoming UK-EU summit which will cover areas including greater cooperation on immigration and promised to "work to secure gains for our industries most harmed by Brexit".

In his conference speech Burnham once again alluded to the options for the UK's future with the EU by saying, "We will not give Britain the clear path we need into the rest of the century until we decide on a long-term relationship with what is still our largest market. I cannot say to you truthfully that where we are is good enough."

The economic debate is compounded by the electoral one. A YouGov survey commissioned by Best for Britain suggests that Labour would win 136 seats if it maintained its current red lines, 256 if they proposed a return to the customs union, 257 if they proposed joining the single market, and 321 if they promised to reapply for full EU membership.

Burnham's return to Westminster this summer after stepping down as mayor of Manchester, was via Makerfield, a constituency situated in one of the areas of northern England where Brexit received considerable support. Any change to Labour’s position would therefore have to reconcile the shift in public opinion with an electoral landscape in which the question over the EU continues to be marked by deep territorial, generational and political divisions.