Support for rejoining EU grows after Burnham opened door to UK’s return
Support for reversing Brexit has risen – and opposition has fallen – since Andy Burnham opened the door to Britain rejoining the European Union, according to a major new poll.
The Ipsos Mori survey found that 56 per cent now say they would vote in favour of becoming part of the EU again, up four percentage points on a similar poll in May.
At the same time the number who back staying out has fallen three points to 30 per cent.
When the findings were filtered by those likely to vote in a future referendum, the result was 63-34, with 3 per cent saying they did not know.
The poll also revealed that 73 per cent of those aged under 35 want to rejoin the bloc, alongside 77 per cent of those who voted Labour at the last general election, 31 per cent of Tories and even 16 per cent of Reform voters.
Most of the public think joining the EU will improve the economy and national security, 54 and 53 per cent respectively, although 39 per cent think it would harm Britain’s ability to act in its own best interests.
Nick Boles, the former Tory minister who helped to prepare Labour for office before it entered government in 2024, said it was “clear” from the poll that “Andy Burnham speaks for a majority when he says that Brexit has been bad for Britain and we need a much closer relationship with the EU”.
Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock, who has predicted the prime minister will be the man to lead the UK back into the EU, said the findings among under 35s signify “continually growing support within the part of the national population which will inevitably become larger, while ‘stay out’ shrinks in the coming decades”.
We are campaigning to rebuild Britain's relationship with Europe. Join us here
He added: “Obviously, in the years to the next election, those of us who support joining again have a task of explanation: We must convince voters who still think that separation from Europe means ‘independence’ and is necessary to uphold UK national interest that, in reality, the opposite is the case.
“Separation reduces political and economic strength and security, involvement would again give the UK significant influence over the conditions and decisions which affect our country. When we are not at the table, we are on the menu.”
Tom Brufatto, policy and research director at Best for Britain, which campaigns for the UK to restore its place at the heart of Europe, said: “What’s increasingly telling is the significant rise in enthusiasm for going all the way since the prime minister rightly started speaking about the future of UK-EU relations.”
He urged the Labour leader to be seize the moment, saying: “Burnham rightly doesn’t want to move ahead of the public on EU membership but the public are already there – ready and waiting for the UK to start the journey to EU membership.”
Not long after he entered Downing Street, the PM said he wanted to be “bolder” about getting closer to the EU than his predecessor Sir Keir Starmer.
Weeks later on a trip to New York in September he declined to rule out putting a pledge to rejoin the EU in Labour’s next manifesto.
Soon after, The Independent revealed that Mr Bunham was going to edge Labour closer to rejoining the EU, with ministers saying that it was now a question of “how it is expressed in the manifesto, rather than if”.
Keiran Pedley, director of politics at Ipsos in the UK, said the poll’s findings were “encouraging for those who support the UK joining the EU with a clear majority saying they are in favour and just three in ten explicitly opposed.
“A majority of the public also think joining would have a positive impact on Britain’s economy in the long term and national security too. Yet in other areas the public are less sure, which suggests there are still arguments which could be contested in any future campaign.”
Joe Meighan, policy adviser at the pro-EU group European Movement UK, said: "Bringing Britain closer to the EU is not just the right thing to do for our economy, it is also the direction Labour party voters and the wider public want him to take.
"For too long, politicians have treated Europe as a subject to approach with caution. This polling, along with EMUK’s own, suggest the public is ready for greater ambition. The prime minister has room to lead, with particularly strong support among the voters who put Labour in government; he must seize that movement.”
Ipsos polled 1,109 adults between 15 and 22nd October 2026.
As prime minister Andy Burnham looks at the way ahead for Britain's relationship with Europe, The Independent has been leading the charge, campaigning to secure the absolute best deal for Britain. Become an Independent member for just £1 for six months and join a like-minded community of thousands signed up to our Europe: The Way Back campaign.
Benefits