British premier says he wants UK to rejoin EU in his lifetime, but not necessarily now

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Wednesday that he wants to see Britain rejoin the EU during his lifetime, while stressing that rejoining is not necessarily the option that should be pursued now.

Speaking to the BBC, Burnham was asked by presenter Nick Robinson whether, ideally, he wanted Britain to rejoin the EU.

After pausing, Burnham said: “I want to look at the options.” Robinson noted the length of the pause, suggesting it sounded as though Burnham meant yes but did not want to say so.

Burnham responded: “I have said it, there’s no point me denying it, I’ve said in the book I would like to see Britain rejoin in my lifetime. So there was no point saying otherwise.

“But it’s not necessarily the case that is now. Because we need to understand what would be the nature of how we would look at the different options.”

Burnham then outlined four possible approaches: maintaining the status quo, joining a customs union, joining both a customs union and the single market, or rejoining the EU.

Burnham, 56, has again expressed support for eventual rejoining while making clear that he does not necessarily regard it as the immediate option, saying the different possibilities first need to be examined.