Germany vows to be Britain's EU partner as Burnham refuses to rule out second Brexit referendum
From the Newshound archive · first published 2 October 2026 · last updated 3 October 2026.
Andy Burnham, Prime Minister, whose cabinet is split over EU rejoining, with senior ministers warning there is 'no appetite' in Britain or Europe to reopen Brexit wounds.Nigel Farage, posting on X, vowed to campaign against EU re-entry "from this moment on," predicting a general election could come as soon as next spring.
German ambassador Susanne Baumann told Burnham's government that Berlin will "always find a partner" in Germany should Britain move closer to the EU. Burnham said this week that a future Labour manifesto putting a rejoin referendum to voters was "possible," describing it as "all options on the table" — a stance that infuriated Leave voters who delivered Brexit the largest democratic mandate in British history. France's Emmanuel Macron and Spain's Pedro Sanchez had already endorsed Britain's return, with Macron making clear that membership would be full or nothing — no intermediate arrangement would be on offer.
Farage told a Reform rally in Doncaster he was ready to "fight" Burnham to keep Britain out of the EU.
Macron declared Brexit the "biggest lie of the last 30 years" in a speech in Madrid earlier this week.
Baumann warned the ambition can be set "as high as we can" — signalling full membership, not a softer deal.
