Cautious welcome

Burnham’s address has so far received a cautious welcome from Brussels and from EU capitals.

Sandro Gozi, the lawmaker who chairs the European Parliament’s parliament's delegation to U.K., told POLITICO that Burnham’s “call for a new course deserves a serious European response.”

“Let’s turn that opening into concrete choices for a closer EU–UK partnership to give citizens and businesses on both sides of the channel a more prosperous, secure future. As Europeans, we must unite and we must adapt our relations for a new world.”

Another EU diplomat told POLITICO: “It was a very passionate speech. What I found very interesting was the lack of reference to the manifesto’s red lines, the willingness to the lay out all options, and to try and find consensus around one.”

But back in Westminster, Labour’s euroskeptic opponents Reform accused Burnham of “betrayal.” 

“Andy Burnham has barely been Prime Minister five minutes and he's already trying to sneak us back into Brussels via the back door,” Reform UK's Deputy Leader Richard Tice — whose boss Nigel Farage was one of the chief campaigners for Brexit — said.

“He says Brexit has done more harm than good but what's done real harm is a Labour government that can't deliver growth, can't control migration and now wants to outsource the job to Brussels," Tice added.

"Reform UK will never let this betrayal go unchallenged.”