The thorny question of whether Britain should unwind a decade of estrangement from the European Union is resurfacing as the Labour Party starts to imagine a future beyond Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Two key figures have emerged as potential challengers after a series of political body blows that have left Starmer’s leadership in crisis, and the spectre of rejoining the EU was creeping back into the debate.
Wes Streeting, who resigned from Starmer’s government as health secretary last week, argued in favour of rejoining the bloc in a speech on Saturday, saying the decision to leave in 2016 was “a catastrophic mistake”.
While less forceful in tone, Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester who plans to stand as Labour’s candidate in a June 18 by-election so he can mount a challenge against Starmer, also said in an interview on Saturday that there was a case for rejoining the EU.
The comments follow heavy losses by the party in local elections earlier this month to the right-wing Reform UK and the leftist Green Party. In the aftermath, Labour members of Parliament pointed to voters’ dissatisfaction with Starmer as a contributing factor, and more than 90 MPs have since publicly called for the prime minister to resign.
Although Streeting refrained from mounting an immediate challenge against Starmer after stepping down, he said on Saturday that he would run in a leadership contest against Burnham, who must first gain a seat in the House of Commons before he can stage a campaign.
