7 Oct 2026
Andy Burnham’s EU comments
This episode looks at the Labour Party’s new messaging, Andy Burnham’s “all options are on the table” line, and why that has people talking about Europe again. The conversation unpacks what rejoining the EU would actually mean for the UK, from free movement to monetary policy, and why the politics around Brexit still keep resurfacing.We discuss the gap between conference slogans like “hope” and the harder reality of governing, plus the long shadow of the 2016 referendum. The hosts also break down what the single market, customs union, and EU treaties would mean in practice.Key topics
In this episode, the panel examines why Labour’s conference slogan of “hope” feels weak when the party is in power and expected to deliver results, not promises.
They discuss Andy Burnham’s comment that “all options are on the table” and interpret it as a political signal about Brexit and Labour’s relationship with EU re-entry.
The group traces Labour’s historical shift from being more Eurosceptic before the 1990s to a modern pro-EU stance.
They revisit the 2016 EU referendum and debate whether the Leave campaign’s warnings and the Remain campaign’s counterarguments have aged well.
In this episode, they argue that Brexit remains politically useful as a grievance narrative, even though the economic effects are harder to pin down cleanly.
They discuss how Brexit has affected the UK economy, including weak growth and ongoing deindustrialization in parts of the north.
The conversation explains the trade-offs of EU membership, especially access to the single market and the ability of the European Commission to negotiate trade deals for member states.
They talk through the customs union and single market, including the loss of independent trade policy, the need to follow EU rules, and the implications for free movement.
The hosts also cover the political difficulty of selling EU re-entry to British voters, especially if it means accepting free movement and potentially joining the euro.
They touch on the political history of Brexit as a movement, including Nigel Farage’s shift from UKIP to the Brexit Party and then Reform UK.
Timestamps(00:00) Intro to Ask Jake and the EU politics topic
(00:19) Labour conference, Andy Burnham, and why the timing matters
(02:07) Why “hope” is a strange slogan for a governing party
(02:48) Burnham’s “all options are on the table” line
(04:25) Reading Labour’s Brexit messaging as political positioning
(05:47) Labour’s historical shift from Eurosceptic to pro-EU
(07:14) Why some Labour members still see the referendum as illegitimate
(10:22) Brexit and the UK economy: growth, decline, and the north
(11:39) Why campaign predictions are hard to walk back
(13:07) The advantages of EU membership and trade scale
(14:19) Free trade deals, ratification, and the Canada example
(17:41) Treaty of Lisbon, referendum politics, and the legal mechanics
(21:04) What “all options” could mean in practice for Burnham
(21:54) Customs union trade-offs and loss of trade independence
(23:50) Single market rules, EU law, and monetary sovereignty
(24:56) Freedom of movement and why it remains a red line
(25:43) Why most voters still reject the practical costs of re-joining
(27:49) Why Burnham’s line keeps the Brexit question alive
(28:34) Farage, Reform UK, and Brexit as an enduring political brand
(30:01) Wrap-up and sign-off
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