A Labour minister has refused to rule out the party committing to rejoin the European Union in its next general election manifesto, reopening a politically sensitive question over Britain’s long-term relationship with the bloc.
Hamish Falconer, a Foreign Office minister, declined to give an assurance in the Commons that Labour would exclude EU membership from its next manifesto when challenged by Alex Burghart, the shadow Northern Ireland secretary.
Burghart asked directly whether Labour would rule out a commitment to rejoin the bloc at the next general election.
Falconer responded that drafting the party’s next manifesto was not among his responsibilities.
“I can hear from the outrage behind me that I have many responsibilities, but writing the next Labour Party manifesto is not one of them,” he told MPs.
The minister instead pointed to the commitments made in Labour’s current manifesto, including its existing red lines on the UK’s relationship with the EU.
“We are committed to the red lines, we were all elected under that manifesto,” Falconer said. “We want to go further and faster, we have inherited a poor deal with the EU and it is my job to retrieve it.”
The exchange highlights the political sensitivity surrounding Labour’s approach to Brexit. Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s government has sought closer relations with Brussels while maintaining that Britain will not rejoin the single market, customs union or return to freedom of movement.
Burghart pressed Falconer on why the government was unwilling to explicitly exclude EU membership from its future plans.
“Why is it so hard to rule out” rejoining the bloc, he asked.
Falconer rejected the suggestion that ministers should reopen the central arguments of the 2016 referendum, while reiterating Labour’s existing position.
“I want to be clear to the House. We are not, despite the anxious desire among the opposition backbenches, prepared to rerun the same arguments as 2016,” he said.
“My constituents, as are the constituents of all of us right across the house, are concerned with the day to day impacts of the deal that we have inherited. It is my job to improve it.”
The minister concluded by insisting that Labour’s current Brexit commitments remained unchanged.
“Our manifesto red lines remain in place.”
The refusal to rule out a future commitment to EU membership is unlikely to settle the debate within Labour, where some MPs and members have advocated a substantially closer relationship with Brussels.
For the government, the challenge is to deepen economic and political co-operation with the EU without creating the impression that it is seeking to reverse Brexit. Falconer’s comments leave that distinction intact for now, while avoiding a commitment that could bind the party at the next election.
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