Andy Burnham has put Brexit on trial in front of his own party. Speaking at Labour's conference in Liverpool on Tuesday, the UK prime minister said: "I cannot say to you truthfully that where we are is good enough. Brexit has done more harm than good."
It was his first conference speech as party leader, and a clear shift from the approach of his predecessor, Keir Starmer. Burnham reminded delegates that the EU remains Britain's largest trading partner and called for a long-term relationship with it. He also pledged gains for the industries that Brexit hurt.
Burnham did not say the UK should rejoin the bloc. He did not rule it out either. That ambiguity was enough to stir reactions in European capitals.
What he did promise is more concrete. At a UK-EU summit planned for later this year, he will "table several options for what the relationship could look like in the future". He did not say what those options are.
The summit was meant to finalise the post-Brexit reset in July. It slipped, and until this week diplomats could not say when it would happen. The Financial Times now reports that it will take place in November, after both sides put aside a dispute over Brussels' "Made in Europe" initiative so that the meeting could go ahead.
The dispute is about the Industrial Accelerator Act, the Commission's plan to steer public money towards goods made in Europe. Burnham raised UK inclusion with Ursula von der Leyen on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. He warned of "collateral damage" from rules designed to hit Chinese competitors, and made clear that the "associate membership" status floated for Canada is not on offer to Britain.
EU capitals are split. Some diplomats want the UK folded into the act. France, Poland, Italy and Greece are pushing a tougher line. Tony Blair has urged Burnham to drop his red lines to make a deal easier.
Britain is not the only outsider knocking. Turkey's trade minister, Ömer Bolat, told the Financial Times that Ankara would retaliate if Made in Europe squeezes its car industry, arguing that the policy breaches the EU-Turkey customs union. "Action brings reaction," he said. The Commission insists the act breaks neither customs-union rules nor WTO rules, and an EU official argued that including Turkey in the car provisions would defeat the initiative's purpose.
Burnham has changed the tone, not the policy. Rejoining is not on the table, and he has not yet said what he will put there instead. The November summit is where the vagueness ends.
The test will be whether Brussels will give a non-member a share of its new industrial preference scheme. If it will not, every option Burnham tables will start with a closed door on procurement. If it does, Turkey, Canada and others will want the same terms, and the 27 are nowhere near agreed on that.
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