French finance minister Roland Lescure tells Britain to 'come back anytime' as Burnham leaves EU door open

From the Newshound archive · first published 8 October 2026.

France's finance minister Roland Lescure has urged Britain to rejoin the EU "anytime", saying the UK is needed "back at the table" to tackle global economic threats. His intervention follows Prime Minister Andy Burnham's Labour conference signal that a second Brexit referendum could feature in a future manifesto. Burnham is due to meet German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin on Thursday, with talks expected to focus on defence and security.

Burnham described Brexit as having done "more harm than good" and left open the possibility of contesting the next election on a platform of EU membership without putting the question to a referendum.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez have both welcomed Burnham's EU comments, with Sanchez saying he would embrace Britain back with "open arms".

Sceptics point to the euro's drop to its lowest level against the dollar in 17 months, violent unrest that has shuttered 500 French schools, and the deterioration of Germany's car industry as reasons to question the timing of any push to rejoin.