Labour's trade union backers revolt against Andy Burnham's push to rejoin the EU, telling PM: 'We can't go back'

Published: 06:48 EST, 15 November 2026 | Updated: 06:49 EST, 15 November 2026 Labour's trade union backers have joined a revolt against Andy Burnham's push to reverse Brexit, telling him: 'We can't go back to where we were before.'The Prime Minister, who has expressed a wish to see the UK rejoin the EU in his lifetime, has vowed to 'explore options' for a new long-term relationship with the bloc.He is due to meet with EU leaders in Brussels on Friday to sign off his Brexit 'reset', with deals set to be agreed on food and drink, youth mobility and emissions trading.Mr Burnham also wants to use the summit to 'set up a serious dialogue' about the UK's future ties with the EU, having claimed the 'status quo is not good enough'.He has suggested the UK could rejoin the bloc's customs union or single market, or even go 'all the way' in returning as an EU member state.But there is growing alarm within Labour's own ranks about the PM's apparent openness to reversing the Brexit vote in 2016. The Prime Minister, who has expressed a wish to see the UK rejoin the EU in his lifetime, has vowed to 'explore options' for a new long-term relationship with the bloc Gary Smith, the general secretary of the GMB union, told the Sunday Times: 'I would be cautious about fully rejoining… we can't go back to where we were before'Gary Smith, the general secretary of the GMB union, told the Sunday Times: 'I would be cautious about fully rejoining… we can't go back to where we were before.'A lot of Europe is now seeing low productivity, high unemployment and the rise of the Right.'Sharon Graham, the Unite general secretary, is also reported to be against rejoining the EU.A union source told the newspaper: 'Unite's position is clear: it wants the UK to get as close as possible without rejoining.'Both GMB and Unite are among Labour's biggest trade union donors and have a significant influence on the party's policies.Labour MPs from various factions have also voiced their concerns about Mr Burnham pursuing an attempt to rejoin the EU.Jon Trickett, the veteran MP for Normanton and Hemsworth, is expected to soon publish a list of 12 reasons why returning to the bloc would be a bad idea.Brian Leishman, the MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, earlier this month branded the EU 'imperialist' and 'capitalist'.And Jonathan Hinder, the MP for Pendle and Clitheroe, has voiced concerns against 'signing up to rules we have no say over'.New research has suggested it could cost the UK £750million a week in membership fees to rejoin the EU.A study by the new campaign group Stay Out revealed that the size of the EU's annual budget has doubled since the UK voted to leave a decade ago.The EU has also introduced a number of new green levies which the UK would have to pay.Meanwhile, senior EU figures have warned that Britain would no longer receive the annual budget rebate negotiated by Margaret Thatcher if it chose to rejoin.Speaking at the Welsh Labour conference on Saturday, Mr Burnham claimed Britain had 'lost more than we gained' in the decade since the EU referendum.'I think we've lost more than we've gained over the last 10 years,' he said ahead of the upcoming UK-EU summit.'I think the Conservatives gave Britain a harsher and harder Brexit than people thought they were getting when they voted in 2016, because they burned all of our bridges in the aftermath, with the EU.'So I'm going to lead as Prime Minister on this issue, and I'm going to go and try and get the best deal I can.'