The biggest economic opportunity we have is on our doorstep
A question that reshaped Britain a decade ago has returned to the centre of its politics, carried back not by its original architects but by those who once stayed silent. Wes Streeting's declaration that Brexit was a catastrophic mistake — made from a conference stage as a leadership challenge to Sir Keir Starmer — reminds us that unresolved national choices do not disappear; they wait. With a by-election approaching in a constituency that voted heavily to Leave, and Reform UK sharpening its message, the old wound has opened again, and the parties must decide, once more, what they believe.
- Streeting broke Labour's careful silence on Brexit by calling it a catastrophic mistake, directly challenging the boundaries Starmer has spent years maintaining.
- The Conservatives moved within the hour to weaponise the moment, framing Labour's internal debate as proof the country is being left ungoverned.
- Andy Burnham, positioned as Labour's candidate in the Makerfield by-election, is caught between his own past remarks about rejoining the EU and a constituency where 65 percent voted Leave.
- Reform UK, having won roughly half the local vote share in the area compared to Labour's 27 percent, is ready to make Burnham's European sympathies the centrepiece of its campaign.
- Across the opposition benches, the Liberal Democrats and Greens are pressing their own pro-European cases, leaving Starmer's cautious middle ground looking increasingly exposed.
Brexit, the question that cracked Britain open in 2016, has forced its way back into Labour's politics. At the Progress Conference in London, Wes Streeting — freshly departed from cabinet — told his audience that leaving the European Union had been a catastrophic mistake, and that the UK had grown less wealthy, less powerful, and less sovereign as a result. He was not merely offering an opinion; he was launching a leadership challenge to Sir Keir Starmer, and he was planting his flag on ground Starmer had deliberately left unmarked.
Starmer's Labour has held a careful line since taking office: closer ties with Europe, yes, but no return to the single market, no customs union, no reopening of the 2016 verdict. Streeting's speech suggested that line was fraying. Within the hour, Conservative Party Chairman Kevin Hollinrake accused Labour of relitigating old battles while families needed focus on the economy, public services, and defence — a familiar tactic of turning an opponent's divisions into a political weapon.
The pressure landed at a delicate moment. A by-election in Makerfield, expected on 18 June, has drawn Andy Burnham as Labour's candidate. Burnham had previously said he hoped to see Britain rejoin the EU in his lifetime, but when pressed now, he said there was a long-term case for it while insisting he was not advocating for it in this campaign. The balancing act was visible.
Reform UK saw the opening clearly. In Makerfield, 65 percent had voted Leave in 2016, and Reform had recently taken around half the local vote share to Labour's 27 percent. The party made plain it would remind voters of Burnham's earlier remarks. Burnham's own campaign focused on deindustrialisation, bus deregulation, privatisation, and a post-war-scale council house building programme — but Brexit had already consumed the political oxygen. The Liberal Democrats argued growth was impossible without a customs union. The Greens called for full membership. The wound, it turned out, had never truly healed.
Brexit, the political wound that seemed to have scabbed over, is bleeding again. On a Saturday in May, Wes Streeting—the former Health Secretary who had just walked away from the cabinet—stood before an audience at Labour's Progress Conference in London and said what his party's leader has spent years carefully not saying: leaving the European Union was a catastrophic mistake.
Streeting's declaration was not casual. He was announcing his intention to challenge Sir Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership, and he was staking his claim on territory Starmer had deliberately avoided. The UK had become less wealthy, less powerful, and less in control than at any point since before the Industrial Revolution, Streeting argued. The solution, he said, was a new relationship with Europe—and eventually, rejoining the EU itself. But he was careful to note this could only happen with a fresh democratic mandate, perhaps at a general election.
Within an hour, Conservative Party Chairman Kevin Hollinrake had seized on the opening. While Labour relitigated Brexit, he said, Britain was not being governed. The remarks were a distraction at a time when families and businesses needed focus on the cost of living, the economy, public services, and defence. It was a familiar move: use your opponent's internal divisions as a weapon.
Starmer's Labour has walked a narrow line on Brexit since taking office. The party would seek a closer relationship with the EU, yes, but would not back rejoining the single market or a customs union. These were the red lines, the careful boundaries meant to avoid reopening the chasm that had split the country in 2016. Streeting's speech suggested those boundaries were no longer holding.
The timing was sharp because a by-election in Makerfield was coming—likely on June 18—and Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, was positioning himself as Labour's candidate. Burnham had his own complicated history with the issue. At Labour's annual conference the previous year, he had said he hoped to see Britain rejoin the EU in his lifetime. Now, asked by ITV News whether he favoured rejoining, he said there was a case for it in the long term, but he was not advocating for it in this by-election. He was trying to have it both ways, and the pressure was mounting.
Reform UK saw an opening. In Makerfield, 65 percent of voters had backed Brexit in the 2016 referendum. In recent local elections, Reform had pulled roughly 50 percent of the vote share in the area, compared to Labour's 27 percent. The party made clear it would remind voters of Burnham's earlier comments about rejoining the EU, whether he wanted them reminded or not.
Burnham's campaign message focused on other ground: Britain had been on the wrong path for forty years, he said, starting with deindustrialisation and the deregulation of buses and privatisation of essential services. He wanted reindustrialisation of northwest England and a council house building programme on the scale of the post-war period. But the fact that Brexit had already become a central issue—seized on by Streeting, by the Conservatives, by Reform—showed that the question of the UK's relationship with Europe remained a fundamental dividing line. The Liberal Democrats were already arguing that without a customs union, growth would not return. The Greens had long held that full EU membership was the best option. The wound, it seemed, had never really closed.
Notable Quotes
Leaving the European Union was a catastrophic mistake— Wes Streeting
In the long-term there is a case for that [rejoining the EU], but I'm not advocating that in this by-election— Andy Burnham
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why is Streeting calling Brexit a catastrophic mistake now, when Starmer has deliberately avoided saying that?
Because he's running for leadership. He's signalling that he thinks Starmer's caution has been a mistake—that Labour should own a bolder position on Europe rather than tiptoeing around it.
But doesn't that risk splitting the party again, right when they're in government?
It does. That's exactly why Starmer drew those red lines in the first place. But Streeting seems to believe the party has been too afraid of what voters might think, and that the real opportunity—and the real mistake—is in not being honest about what Brexit cost.
What about Burnham? He seems to want it both ways.
He does. He said in the past that he hopes to rejoin the EU eventually, but now he's saying that's not what this by-election is about. He's trying to hold the position without making it his campaign.
Will that work?
Probably not. Reform UK is already making sure voters remember what he said. In Makerfield, where two-thirds voted Leave, that's a real vulnerability.
So this by-election is going to be about Brexit after all?
It's going to be one of the things it's about. Burnham wants to talk about deindustrialisation and public ownership. But yes, Brexit is back on the table, and that changes the shape of the race.
What does this mean for Starmer?
It means the consensus he tried to build around a cautious middle ground is fracturing. His own senior figures are now openly challenging whether that caution was wise.