MPs to debate petition calling on Britain to apply to rejoin the EU
A Westminster Hall debate at 4.30pm on Monday will consider an e-petition signed by 111,687 people that asks the Government to seek EU membership again, a decade after the Brexit vote.
MPs will debate on Monday afternoon whether Britain should apply to rejoin the European Union, after a public petition demanding a new application gathered 111,687 signatures earlier this year.
The Westminster Hall debate, scheduled for 4.30pm, will consider e-petition 749128, titled "Apply to Rejoin the EU as soon as possible to increase growth in the UK". Labour MP Tony Vaughan, who represents Folkestone and Hythe, will open the session.
The petition's text says: "Ten years after the Brexit vote, let's apply to rejoin the EU, reverse the damage, boost growth, increase tax revenues and restore opportunities in the UK. It's time to seek to rejoin the EU, remove those [trade] barriers and boost the economy."
Ten years after the Brexit vote, let's apply to rejoin the EU, reverse the damage, boost growth, increase tax revenues and restore opportunities in the UK.e-petition 749128, UK Parliament petitions site
It will be the first time MPs have debated the options for a closer relationship with Brussels since Andy Burnham opened the door to rejoining in the closing minutes of his Labour conference speech last month, telling delegates the country needed an honest conversation about its future relationship with Europe.
The debate does not require the Government to change policy, will not put EU membership to a vote, and will not trigger negotiations. The Cabinet Office responded to the petition in January, before Burnham became Prime Minister, saying ministers were working to "reset" relations with the EU. After the petition passed 10,000 signatures, the Government stated the UK would not rejoin the EU, pointing instead to a reset and a new strategic partnership.
The rejoin question has already galvanised the campaigners behind the original Brexit vote. Conservative MP and former Vote Leave director Bernard Jenkin is putting together a new cross-party parliamentary group to fight any rejoin push, and some of those involved are expected to speak in Monday's debate. "Andy Burnham is completely mad to do all this rejoin stuff," Jenkin said. "Have no doubt: our campaign would win again, because polls show that if voters are asked about giving back control, or paying money to the EU budget again, rejoining is a non-starter."
Mike Woods, a shadow Cabinet minister, confirmed the Conservatives would "fight Labour's attempts to pull us into the EU's orbit every step of the way". He said: "Britain's membership of the EU should be a settled issue. The public made their decision at the referendum. But now Labour wants to reopen the bitter battles of those years. This is a distraction from the real challenges facing our country: an economy on the brink, a ballooning welfare bill, and serious threats to our national security."
The debate also lands a day after Burnham became the first prime minister to say Russia interfered in the 2016 referendum, an admission that has put the entire Brexit settlement back under scrutiny.
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