Burnham Brexit rejoin row swells as Makerfield looms

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham moved to calm backlash over his call to rejoin the EU, insisting he is not campaigning for immediate return as the Makerfield by-election approaches. With Labour leadership infighting continuing—plus Reform pressure after

Andy Burnham tried to steady the Brexit storm swirling around his campaign, telling voters he believes leaving the EU has been “damaging” while stressing he is not pushing for an immediate re-entry to the bloc.

Speaking to a Northern investment summit. the Greater Manchester mayor also attacked “Neoliberalism” and “trickle-down” economics. arguing that wealth had been “siphoned off” from workers.. He said funding for the North should come at the expense of the South—insisting the reverse has been true in a political system he said has been failing for 40 years.

The remarks landed as Labour faces rising alarm over the Makerfield contest—likely to be held on June 18—after outgoing MP Josh Simons officially quit this morning. Simons takes on the traditional role of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds.

Even supporters of Burnham acknowledge his path is tough, with polls consistently showing Reform’s Nigel Farage is on track for victory. A win, however, would almost certainly put Burnham in a position to challenge Keir Starmer.

While Burnham worked the pitch of economic power shifting northwards, Sir Keir sounded defiant on the leadership question, insisting he wants to stay Prime Minister into the 2030s.

“I do want to fight the next election. Obviously, I recognise that after the local election results, the elections in Wales and Scotland as well, that the first task is obviously turning things around and making sure that my focus is in the right place,” the premier said.

He added: “The last 10 days, there’s been a lot of activity, which hasn’t been as focused in my view as it should have been, and I remind myself every day that I was elected to office to serve the people, to serve the country, that’s what I believe in, and that’s what I’ll be getting on with.”

Starmer said he would not “walk away” and would not set out a timetable to stand down even if Burnham wins Makerfield.

His stance comes amid a wider set of political signals and tensions across Labour.. Lord Gove. described in the story as one of the architects of Brexit. wrote in the Daily Mail that any moves to rejoin the EU would be a “betrayal”.. David Lammy, meanwhile, suggested Starmer could consider standing down if a leadership challenger gets 81 nominations from MPs.. Angela Rayner is also reported to have turned down an offer to become health secretary after Wes Streeting quit.

Further unpredictability is feeding the campaign. Reform could announce a local plumber as its candidate as soon as tomorrow, while there is speculation the Conservatives could choose to avoid Makerfield to maximise chances of Burnham being defeated.

Tensions over Brexit and leadership are now running side by side. Burnham’s allies lashed out after leadership contender Wes Streeting voiced support for rejoining the EU—an issue that has become particularly combustible for a by-election shaped by Euroscepticism.

MISRYOUM’s UK newsroom reporting shows that the party scramble has been sharpened by Streeting’s sudden departure from his role as Health Secretary last week, after which he signalled he wanted Britain to return to the EU in a speech on Saturday.

Keir Starmer visited Labour HQ this morning to thank staff for their hard work, before heading to a cafe in North West London for a photo op. He pledged he would support whatever candidate is fighting Reform at the by-election.

Backbencher Jonathan Hinder said the call to unwind Brexit showed a “staggering level of out of touch”.. He added on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We are just over a week after we took a real beating in our working-class heartlands.. It’s a very long list—we’re talking about the Hartlepools. the Grimsbys. Barnsley. places like Wigan. where this by-election is going to be. and we were losing to a party which until recently was called the Brexit Party.”

Hinder added: “And to suggest the solution now is for us to reopen that debate is just staggering, and the Labour Party is in an existential crisis, it really is, and the idea that we can reconnect to our working-class base by reopening this debate is just a staggering level of out of touch.”

During Burnham’s speech, he argued that places such as Makerfield had suffered “the draining away of economic, social and political power from these places left adrift”. He said that deindustrialisation was “then compounded by deregulation, privatisation in the 90s and austerity in the 2010s”.

“It all adds up to 40 years of neoliberalism that have not been kind to the north of England—40 years of trickle-down economics that did not. in the end. trickle down very much at all to Platt Bridge or Hindley. ” Burnham said.. “In fact. that system has siphoned wealth out of those places and into the hands of people for whom life was already very good.”

He continued: “It created an economy that didn’t work for most working people. It led to the loss of good jobs, the decline of our high streets, and the neglect of our towns. It led to people paying over the odds for the daily basics energy, housing, water, transport.”

Burnham’s attempt to soften the EU argument came as Reform attacked his intentions.. Farage branded the mayor “open borders Burnham”. saying: “It’s obvious Andy Burnham wants to say one thing to Labour voters in Makerfield while telling Labour MPs something entirely different as he positions himself for power.. Reform will ensure the voters know exactly where Burnham stands on rejoining the EU.”

The criticism from within Labour also sharpened into personal blame. One despairing minister told the Daily Mail: “Day one has gone well but it’ll be downhill from here on in.” Another senior Labour source described the complaint as: “Wes is doing politics and I’m upset about it.”

“Welcome to Westminster, Andy. It’s not all free money and buses with bees on,” they added.

A former minister was even sharper, saying: “Burnham has the political sense of a gnat.”

Lord Mandelson’s documents are also set to complicate the run-up. The next batch will not be released this week, meaning they will appear at the beginning of next month as the by-election struggle reaches its culmination.

Sir Keir addressed the by-election fight as a direct contest between Labour and Reform. saying he visited Labour HQ to emphasise he was “focused on the job”.. He told staff: “So. I am focused on the job that I was asked to do. which is to serve my country and to carry out my duties as Prime Minister of this country.. Delivering for the very many people who voted us into office. who are saying. ‘just get on with it. get on with the job. get on with the change that I need to see in my life’.. And that is what I am going to be doing.”

He added: “We now have an important by-election coming up.. It is Labour versus Reform.. We will know very shortly who the candidate is.. Whoever they are. I am going to support them 100 per cent and I want every member. everyone in our movement. to support them.. A Labour candidate to beat Reform.. That is the fight that we are in.”

Downing Street declined to repeat Starmer’s claim from last week that he would fight any challenge to his position.

The Conservatives have piled into the argument, with Kemi Badenoch calling renegotiating Brexit a “disaster”.. She told the Daily Mail: “What we see before us is a timid and tired Labour Party. exhausted after less than two years in government.. Does anyone believe these clowns can negotiate with the EU?”

Badenoch added: “They’re terrified of making any difficult decisions and will only end up giving away power and money just like they did with their terrible Chagos deal and the failed one-in, one-out deal with France.”

She said it would be “a disaster for the country and they will reap the whirlwind” if Labour returned to “the Brexit wars”, adding that the message from the 2016 referendum and elections of 2017 and 2019 was “Get Brexit Done”.

She also said Labour should call a general election if a new leader broke the party’s manifesto commitments and advocated rejoining the EU.

Writing for the Mail, Lord Gove said the drive towards rejoining was “not just acceleration into an economic cul-de-sac, it is also a betrayal of the democratic vote which politicians promised would be honoured and respected”.

He added: “After the agonies of the 2017-19 parliament when establishment voices tried to overturn the clear instruction from the people, it would only further undermine people’s belief that those who govern us respect our instincts.”

Gove argued Britain should instead “make the most of Brexit freedoms” in areas including “financial services, gene editing, AI and tech”.

Woven through the debate is a quick sequence of signals: Burnham insists he is “not pushing for immediate re-entry”. while Streeting publicly supports returning to the EU. Farage frames Burnham as “open borders Burnham”. and Lammy warns that unity could determine whether a leadership challenge escalates—shaping the pressure around Makerfield and Starmer’s refusal to set a stand-down timetable.

Amid the political noise, Lammy also acknowledged infighting after local election results was a “spectacular own goal”. He said on Sky News: “This is a Labour by-election. We’ve got quite threatened votes, Reform will be challenging hard.”

Lammy said: “I’ve known Andy Burnham for over a quarter of a century. We were both proteges of the wonderful Tessa Jowell. We worked together all those years ago under Tony Blair. He will be a great addition to parliament for Makerfield. He has my full support.”

He added: “I will be up there, much of the Cabinet will be up there of course, the Labour movement will be up there to make sure we win.”

Speaking about the risk of continued internal struggle, Lammy said a general election might be unavoidable if the party keeps up the level of infighting. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “This is not a sixth form debate, it is delivery on behalf of the British people.”

He refused to say whether he personally wanted to rejoin the EU five times, saying: “Our position was set out in a manifesto voted on by the British people… that was just 22 months ago. There will be another opportunity at the next election.”

Lammy said: “We have to get on and deliver on their behalf, and I say to colleagues, 10 days of this, fine. I think the British people will forgive us for the introspection. Ten weeks of this, and we’re in desperate trouble. We’ll be out of office, and what we’ll be ushering in is Farage.”

He insisted there is “no contest” for the leadership currently, saying: “What there is is people like me who’ve been in the Labour movement for most of my life being crystal clear that unity, pulling together all of us, is what will deliver for the British people.”

“And introspection and internecine warfare—effectively, some of our colleagues lighting the match and standing in the petrol—that is not what’s going to deliver for the British people. That’s not what’s going to deliver for the British people. What that will usher in is Farage,” Lammy said.

Across Labour’s internal arguments and Reform’s attacks, Burnham tried to reposition the Brexit fight as a longer-term case. He said there was a “long-term case” for advocating to join the EU, but insisted he was not campaigning on that issue in the by-election.

The next stages—whether the Tory position hardens, who Reform fields, and how the leadership confrontation plays into the voting day—now loom over the remaining weeks before Makerfield’s June 18 date.

UK politics Labour Keir Starmer Andy Burnham Makerfield by-election Brexit EU rejoin Reform UK Nigel Farage Wes Streeting David Lammy Josh Simons Lord Gove Angela Rayner Kemi Badenoch