World Jul 22, 2026 · 1 min read

​Andy Burnham’s ​domestic ​revolution ​could ​unobtrusively pull Britain ​closer to Europe

The new PM talks less about the continent than his predecessor, but his agenda is more closely aligned with the EU’s• Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereEurope’s leaders queued up this week to welcome Andy Burnham as Britain’s seventh prime minister since the Brexit vote –...

TH
The Guardian
by Jon Henley
​Andy Burnham’s ​domestic ​revolution ​could ​unobtrusively pull Britain ​closer to Europe

The new PM talks less about the continent than his predecessor, but his agenda is more closely aligned with the EU’s

Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up here

Europe’s leaders queued up this week to welcome Andy Burnham as Britain’s seventh prime minister since the Brexit vote – all expressing the hope that his tenure would continue the thaw in EU-UK relations initiated by his predecessor, Keir Starmer.

Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission chief, said she was looking forward to strengthening cross-Channel ties, adding that a “very good” first discussion had confirmed a common commitment to “bringing the EU and UK closer and closer”. France’s Emmanuel Macron said he hoped for a deeper relationship that gave “new momentum to the partnership” between the EU and the UK. Germany’s Friedrich Merz said he, too, was looking forward to forging an even closer bond.

Continue reading...
TH
Source

This article was originally published by The Guardian and written by Jon Henley.

Read original article on The Guardian
Back to Discover

Reading List