“Labour should stop trying to turn back the clock and instead focus on setting out serious proposals for the future.

“The Conservatives are the only party with a plan to fix our broken economy and welfare system, fund our defence and get Britain working again.”

Mr Burnham has previously called for Britain to rejoin the EU “in my lifetime” after 17.4million people voted to leave in 2016.

In his foreword to the dossier, Sir Tony calls for a “new approach” with the EU.

The paper calls for a series of changes within the EU itself, including ending freedom of movement.

Sir Tony has long been a pro-European and was mooted as a potential president of the European Council back in 2009, two years after leaving Downing Street.

Downing Street has been approached for comment.

Tony Blair piles pressure on Andy Burnham to reverse Brexit ‘in next 10 years’

Tony Blair has put fresh pressure on Prime Minister Andy Burnham to reconsider Britain’s post-Brexit future after calling for the UK to work towards rejoining the European Union within the next decade.

The intervention comes at a politically sensitive moment for Burnham, who has so far declined to rule out putting a commitment to rejoin the EU in Labour’s next manifesto, while insisting that his immediate priority is rebuilding Britain’s relationship with Brussels.

Blair’s proposal goes considerably further.

A new report from the Tony Blair Institute calls for Britain to establish a clear public objective of rejoining a “significantly reformed” European Union over the next 10 years. The report argues that Britain should begin discussions with European governments while keeping the precise terms of any future relationship open.

The proposal has reopened one of the most divisive questions in British politics just days before Labour’s annual conference.

Blair calls for a new European strategy

Blair, who served as Labour prime minister from 1997 to 2007, has argued that Britain should move beyond the traditional Leave-versus-Remain argument.

In the foreword to the report, he says Britain should signal an intention to establish a formal relationship with Europe and begin negotiations on the basis that “everything is on the table but nothing agreed until everything is agreed”.

The proposal does not simply call for Britain to recreate its pre-Brexit relationship with the EU.

The Tony Blair Institute argues that Europe itself needs substantial reform before Britain seeks membership again.

Its paper, Beyond Leave and Remain: A Path to Rejoining a Reformed Europe, says Britain should work towards the ambition of rejoining a reformed EU during the next decade.

The institute argues that Britain could use the prospect of eventual membership as leverage to encourage reforms within the bloc, particularly in areas such as energy, technology, competitiveness and economic regulation.

That makes Blair’s proposal different from a straightforward call to reverse the 2016 referendum immediately.

Burnham has left the door open

The pressure on Burnham follows comments he made earlier this week.

During his trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, the Prime Minister was asked whether Labour could promise to seek EU membership in its next election manifesto.

Burnham did not rule out the possibility.

Instead, he said the question was “for another day” and emphasised that his government’s immediate task was to rebuild Britain’s relationship with European partners.

That position represents an important distinction.

Burnham is not currently promising to take Britain back into the EU.

His government is pursuing closer cooperation with Brussels in areas where ministers believe greater alignment could benefit Britain, while maintaining the previous government’s stated position against rejoining the single market, customs union and freedom of movement.

Blair is now urging him to reconsider those restrictions as part of a longer-term strategy.

What would rejoining actually mean?

Returning to the European Union would be considerably more complicated than simply reversing Brexit legislation.

EU membership involves accepting a broad set of obligations, including the rules governing the single market and customs union, as well as the free movement arrangements applying to member states.

There would also be negotiations over Britain’s financial contribution and the terms under which the UK would participate in EU institutions.

The Blair Institute acknowledges some of these issues.

Its proposal suggests Britain should be prepared to accept free movement of people and make a financial contribution to the EU as part of a future membership agreement.

That would represent a significant change from the political settlement established after the 2016 referendum.

It would also require negotiations with the EU rather than a unilateral British decision.

Blair rejects a simple return to the past

Interestingly, Blair’s proposal does not advocate simply restoring Britain’s previous position.

The former prime minister has said that returning to straightforward membership of the single market and customs union would not be sufficient.

Instead, he wants Britain and other European countries to pursue reforms that would make the EU more economically competitive and strategically powerful.

The report argues that Europe needs to adapt to a world in which the United States and China possess enormous economic and technological influence.

Blair believes Britain could play a significant role in that process even before any eventual return to the EU.

The proposed strategy therefore combines two ideas: closer cooperation immediately and the possibility of membership later.

The economic argument

Supporters of closer EU ties point to the importance of Britain’s trading relationship with Europe.

The EU remains the UK’s largest trading bloc, and British companies continue to depend heavily on European supply chains and customers.

Recent debates over the EU’s proposed “Made in EU” rules have illustrated the issue.

The proposed legislation could give preference to European-produced goods in areas such as electric vehicles, renewable energy and other strategic sectors.

Reuters reported that Britain could be excluded from some of those arrangements unless a reciprocal agreement is reached, despite the close integration between British and European industries.

The automotive industry provides one example of the interdependence.

British manufacturers operate across European supply chains, while European companies rely on access to the UK market.

For Blair and other supporters of closer integration, reducing those barriers is an important economic objective.

But opponents argue that greater EU alignment could reduce the regulatory freedom Britain gained by leaving the bloc.

The political calculation

The biggest difficulty for Burnham may not be economic but political.

Brexit remains a highly sensitive issue in many parts of Britain.

The 2016 referendum produced a narrow national majority for Leave, but the result varied substantially between regions and constituencies.

Since then, the political landscape has changed considerably.

Public opinion on Brexit has also moved, with several recent surveys showing stronger support for closer European ties than existed immediately after the referendum.

A YouGov poll commissioned by Best for Britain and cited by the Guardian suggested that a Labour commitment to seeking EU membership could potentially strengthen the party’s electoral position. However, the survey was conducted in June, before Burnham became prime minister, meaning its results cannot automatically be applied to the political situation in September.

That limitation is important.

Polling can measure attitudes at a particular moment, but it cannot establish what the electorate would decide several years from now.

Opposition to the idea remains strong

Blair’s intervention has already produced criticism.

Conservative politicians have accused Burnham of leaving open the possibility of reversing Brexit rather than concentrating on domestic priorities.

Mike Wood, a Conservative shadow Cabinet Office minister, argued that Labour should focus on future policy rather than attempting to revisit the Brexit question.

Other Labour figures have also expressed caution.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy previously warned against reopening what she described as the circular arguments that followed the referendum.

That reflects a concern inside Labour that a formal commitment to EU membership could reopen divisions that the party has attempted to move beyond.

For Burnham, the question is therefore not simply whether closer European integration has economic advantages.

It is also whether putting eventual EU membership at the centre of Labour’s political programme would create new political conflicts.

A major parliamentary debate is approaching

The issue is likely to receive further attention in October.

A parliamentary debate on a petition calling for Britain to rejoin the European Union is scheduled for October 12.

The European Movement UK has also been coordinating support for the petition, with more than 20,000 letters reported in connection with the campaign.

The debate will not itself determine government policy.

But it provides another opportunity for MPs to set out competing arguments about Britain’s long-term relationship with Europe.

The timing is particularly notable because Burnham is preparing a 10-year plan for Britain.

In his first speech as Prime Minister, Burnham said he would later in the year publish a 10-year plan setting out where he believed the country should go.

Blair’s institute is explicitly arguing that the European question should form part of that long-term strategy.

Burnham’s European reset

The Prime Minister has already begun moving towards closer relations with European governments.

During his first major international engagements, Burnham has stressed cooperation with European allies on trade, security and wider geopolitical issues.

At the United Nations, his government presented Britain as a country seeking to rebuild relationships with Europe while maintaining strong ties with the United States and other international partners.

That approach does not amount to a decision to reverse Brexit.

Instead, it reflects an attempt to use the UK’s position outside the EU while reducing some of the practical difficulties created by the new relationship.

Blair believes that approach is insufficient.

His report argues that Britain should think further ahead and prepare for the possibility of eventual membership.

The question of a second referendum

One striking element of the debate is that the Blair proposal does not necessarily depend on another referendum.

The Times podcast Politics Unpacked reported that Blair’s proposal envisages Britain rejoining the EU within a decade without another referendum being the central mechanism.

However, the practical constitutional and political route towards membership would still require extensive parliamentary and diplomatic processes.

The terms of any future accession would have to be negotiated with EU member states.

Britain would also have to decide what conditions it was prepared to accept.

Consequently, even if a future government adopted Blair’s proposed objective, actual membership would remain dependent on negotiations and decisions on both sides of the Channel.

What Burnham must decide

For now, Burnham has not accepted Blair’s timetable.

His public position remains focused on rebuilding Britain’s relationship with Europe rather than immediately pursuing membership.

But his refusal to rule out a future commitment means that the issue remains politically open.

That is precisely why Blair’s intervention matters.

The former prime minister is not simply arguing for another set of technical trade agreements.

He is proposing a fundamental change in the direction of British foreign and economic policy over the next decade.

Whether Burnham adopts that approach will depend on his government’s assessment of Britain’s economic interests, public opinion, relations with European governments and the political consequences of reopening the membership question.

There is also a wider question about what kind of Europe Britain would be seeking to join.

Blair’s proposal is explicitly conditional on reform within the EU.

That means the debate is no longer simply about whether Britain should return to the institution it left in 2020.

It is also about what the European Union itself might look like by the time any future British government considered membership.

A debate that is unlikely to disappear

Ten years after the Brexit referendum, Britain remains closely connected to the European economy despite having left the EU’s political institutions.

The government is already seeking closer cooperation with Brussels in selected areas.

Blair wants that process to go considerably further.

Burnham, meanwhile, has not committed his government to rejoining and has said that the immediate focus should be on repairing practical relations with European partners.

The difference between those positions may appear subtle, but politically it is significant.

One approach seeks closer cooperation while retaining Brexit’s fundamental settlement.

The other envisages using the next decade to prepare for the possibility of reversing that settlement altogether.

Tony Blair has now placed that choice firmly on Burnham’s agenda.

The Prime Minister’s forthcoming 10-year plan could provide an indication of how far he is prepared to go.

For now, however, there is no government commitment to rejoin the EU.

What exists is a growing public and political debate over whether Britain should eventually seek membership again — and Blair has made clear that he wants Burnham to put that question at the centre of the country’s long-term European strategy.

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