Half of Reform voters think Britain should have closer ties to the EU, poll shows

Half of Reform voters agree that Britain should have closer ties with the EU, according to a new poll, as Andy Burnham opens the door to rejoining the bloc.

The new poll, conducted by Public First for Politico, found that seven in ten voters want the government to build a closer relationship with Brussels – with 31 per cent saying Britain should build a “closer” relationship with Brussels, but only if it did not mean complying with the EU’s rulebook.

Meanwhile, 39 per cent wanted “much closer” cooperation even if that did mean the UK was required to follow some EU rules again.

And even among those who support Nigel Farage’s party, some 51 per cent agree that the current relationship with the EU is too distant - double the 25 per cent who said the opposite.

The polling comes after Mr Burnham admitted he is open to reversing Brexit, insisting he could go “all the way” in proposing to rejoin the European Union.

The prime minister, who has blamed Brexit for a decade of drift and division, declared it was “not good enough” simply to leave the issue “hanging”.

Asked whether he wanted the UK to rejoin the bloc, he told the BBC’s Today programme he wanted to look at the “pros and cons” of all options regarding the UK’s future relationship with Brussels, with one of the options being to “go all the way” and resume full membership.

“We could stay as we are. That’s definitely an option, if people think this is the right place to stay,” he told the programme.

“We could look at what George Osborne has said about a customs union, we could look at what the Liberal Democrats said at their conference about the single market or we could go all the way.”

Mr Osborne told The Independent that Brexit “has been a mess” and that while returning to the EU would be difficult, rejoining the customs union would help alleviate some of the pressure on the UK economy.

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In his first Labour Party conference speech as leader, the prime minister said Britain’s decision to leave the EU had done “more harm than good” and promised to set out the options to the country around the time of a UK-EU summit later this year.

Labour’s election manifesto in 2024 ruled out joining a customs union, going back into the single market or allowing the return of freedom of movement with the EU.

But Mr Burnham has indicated he is prepared to recommend going beyond those red lines in future.

“There are clearly options that need to be considered, and we have to look at what is doable and what would be the pros and cons of each,” he told the BBC.

His latest statement is the furthest he has gone yet since entering No 10 in raising the possibility of a complete reversal in the historic decision to leave the EU a decade ago.

It would mean going back on the 2016 EU referendum - and could lead to a second referendum on the matter.

Public First surveyed 2,028 UK adults online between September 13 and September 15, 2026.

The Independent has led the campaign for Britain to rebuild its relationship with Brussels on the basis of clear evidence that it has damaged the economy and failed to deliver promised benefits on a wide range of issues including immigration.

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