'Britain's future is the EU' Rachel Reeves suggests rejoining as she backs Andy Burnham 'Brexit betrayal'

Rachel Reeves has said that Britain's future "lies in the European Union".

The former Chancellor set out her argument for a closer relationship - and ultimately reunification with the bloc - claiming Brexit had made Britain "poorer, weaker and less secure".

Ms Reeves, under Sir Keir Starmer, played a key role in writing Labour's 2024 election manifesto, which explicitly ruled out a return to EU membership.

But writing in The Sunday Times, she insisted she has always backed rejoining, even in Government.

She also urged Government to be "braver" in reforming the planning system to allow the construction of new infrastructure and homes, and to harness Britain's "comparative advantage" in artificial intelligence (AI) to support businesses.

Ms Reeves said: "I am proud of the progress we have already made in strengthening our relationship with the European Union. Brexit has made us poorer, weaker and less secure.

"There is a debate to be had about our future relationship with Europe, and I welcome Andy Burnham's leadership in facing up to this.

"No one in the Treasury ever doubted where my instincts were. I do believe Britain's future lies in the European Union.

"However, it is incumbent on supporters of our re-entry to make the argument, demonstrate tangible benefits and to get the next steps right — especially ahead of the UK-EU summit later this month, where at a minimum we should be looking for confirmation of the ambitious youth mobility scheme negotiated earlier this year, and — I hope — progress towards entry into the SAFE defence partnership."

Mr Burnham told GB News in September it was time for an "honest and grown-up conversation" on what the UK's future relationship with the EU could look like.

The Labour MP for Leeds West and Pudsey now becomes one of the most high-profile Labour backers of the rejoin movement.

Mr Burnham's remarks on the UK-EU relationship were met with fervent opposition from Kemi Badenoch, Nigel Farage, and some Labour allies.

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Melanie Onn, Labour MP for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes, told GB News it was not "worth ripping the whole country apart again" to reverse the commitment made in the 2024 manifesto, while ex-Bank of England economist Andy Haldane, who advised Mr Burnham when he served as Mayor of Greater Manchester, said reigniting the Brexit debate would be a "damaging thing from a growth perspective".

Mr Farage said the Prime Minister had committed a "total betrayal of Brexit Britain" after the Labour leader suggested freedom of movement with the bloc was on the table.

The Makerfield MP said he would reveal further details on potential options for closer ties to the EU around the time of the EU-UK summit on November 20; he has previously named a return to the customs union or Canada's so-called associate member status as possibilities.

Ms Reeves, almost exactly two years after her "Halloween Budget", also reflected on her time as Chancellor.

She said: "When I look back at it now, would I say I got everything right? No.

"Would I have done something differently? Of course. But do I believe that I got the big calls right? Absolutely."

The former Chancellor claimed that "recent headlines about the resilience" of the British economy could not have been written without her fixing the "foundations that we inherited".

She added: "And the Budget John Healey delivered last week would have been, as he has acknowledged, far harder without the progress we made over the previous two years."

Ms Reeves wrote the piece ahead of a lecture she will deliver at Harvard.

The former Chancellor is said to be re-reading Abundance, by US journalists Derek Thompson and Ezra Klein, which argues for the simplification of planning rules to allow for ambitious infrastructure and housing projects, and is urging Labour ministers to read it.