PoliticsBurnham Advocates Closer EU Relationship: Big Gains Will Only Come from Rejoining the Single Market

Annette Young welcomes Tim Bale, a professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London. Bale says Andy Burnham takes over the Labour leadership while Britain’s political debate is shaped less by ideology than by structural constraints. He argues that Burnham’s success will rest on addressing three linked dilemmas: restoring economic growth to create fiscal capacity, rebuilding confidence in the state’s ability to manage migration, and gradually reconsidering Britain’s relationship with the European Union. The central claim is that substantial gains would come only through rejoining the single market.