Have your say on calls for Britain to rejoin the European Union within the next decade
Arch-Remainer Sir Tony Blair wants the UK back in the EU (Image: Getty)
Andy Burnham is facing demands for the UK to rejoin the EU in the next 10 years. Sir Tony Blair‘s think tank made the call in a new report, while businessman Sir Richard Branson has also insisted that Brexit should be reversed.
A report by the Tony Blair Institute argues that Britain rejoining a “significantly reformed” Brussels, along with reforms inside the bloc, could see Europe become a superpower that could challenge the US and China. In the foreword, the ex-PM said: “The red lines which we drew in 2016 are not the same as 2026.
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“We need a new approach which makes sense of the world as it has changed in this decade, and which treats our future relationship in Europe not as a question about whether Britain ‘reverses’ Brexit but about whether we can secure a modern relationship with Europe which is in our national interest today.
“There is no point in inching towards Europe as we feel what British public opinion might accommodate. We should be clear that we want to be back in a formal relationship with the EU. But it must be a Europe on a credible path to reform, a Europe of nation states, a Europe capable of being a genuine global power.
“Otherwise, though Britain should continue to co-operate with the EU where it is in our mutual interest to do so, and though we should always remain open to changing circumstances, Britain will show that it can and is prepared to remain independent.”
Meanwhile, Sir Richard lashed out at Brexit as he branded it an “unmitigated disaster”.
The Virgin Group, which has lived in the Caribbean for much of the last two decades, wrote on LinkedIn: “As a majority of UK voters now feel regret over the Brexit vote, they must be given a second chance to determine what is in their best interest.”
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But the Tories warned the Prime Minister against “trying to turn back the clock”.
Tory Shadow Cabinet Office minister Mike Wood said: “Andy Burnham has left the door open to rejoining the EU and now Tony Blair is piling the pressure on him to drag us back into the bloc.
“Labour should stop trying to turn back the clock and instead focus on setting out serious proposals for the future.”
Mr Burnham has committed to Labour’s red lines on Brexit in the party’s 2024 manifesto, including not returning to the single market, customs union or freedom of movement.
But earlier this week, the PM left the door open to including a pledge to rejoin the EU in Labour’s next election manifesto.
Andy Burnham savaged as one in five UK working age adults now on benefits
Critics warn it is “unfair to taxpayers footing the bill” and Britain “can’t afford” it.
Andy Burnham is under pressure to get a grip on the benefits bill. (Image: Getty)
One in five working-age Brits is on universal credit, according to new research. Some 7.3 million people aged between 20 and 64 in England and Wales were receiving the benefit as of May 2026, the analysis by the Taxpayers’ Alliance found.
That includes 3.3 million under 40, with 1.3 million in their 20s. The research showed that 54 council areas have a quarter of the working-age population on benefits, which are for people who are jobless or on a low income to help with living costs.
William Yarwood, campaigns director at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “In some places, dependency on universal credit has become endemic.
“Generations are being dumped on benefits: written off and condemned to a life of dependency as ministers make it harder for them to find a job.
“If Andy Burnham was serious about growth in every postcode, he would be making it more affordable to hire young people.”
Councils with the highest proportion of older people on universal credit are concentrated in London, including more than half of those in their 50s and 60s in Tower Hamlets.
Coastal towns such as Thanet, Great Yarmouth and Hartlepool tend to have more younger people on benefits.
Blackpool was the local authority with the largest share of the working-age population claiming universal credit at 35.2%.
Tory shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately warned it is “unfair to taxpayers footing the bill” and that Britain “can’t afford” it.
She added: “I’ve been to benefit hotspots like Blackpool, where welfare has become a way of life. This has to stop. A generation of talent is also being wasted when young people sign up for welfare instead of starting work.
“It’s clear Andy Burnham — like his predecessor — does not have the backbone to reform welfare. He said himself he puts social security before national security.”
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: “Three-quarters of the increase in Universal Credit cases since July 2024 is driven by people moving from legacy benefits – a transition started by the previous Government.
“Many people receiving Universal Credit are already in employment, and our reforms will go further to tackle the perverse incentives that discourage work, and we’re investing £3.5 billion in employment support for disabled people and people with long-term conditions.
“We’re putting work and opportunity at the heart of the system, and the final recommendations from the Timms and Milburn Reviews will lay the foundation for sustainable reform.”