Labour's internal Brexit dispute widened on Tuesday as Chancellor John Healey and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds both declined to endorse Prime Minister Andy Burnham's desire to rejoin the EU during his lifetime.
Reynolds said he would feel uneasy about returning to a Europe dominated by right-wing populism. In an interview with The Sun he stated, "I genuinely can't answer that, because I don't know what the future of the EU is, because some of the very strong political currents in member states. For me, it's an approach to issues. What is their approach to how they regulate technology, AI? How dynamic will the economy be?"
He noted that many European nations are likely to be led by parties such as Germany's AfD, Spain's Vox and France's National Rally.
Reynolds also avoided answering questions on free movement, which would allow 450 million EU nationals the right to live and work in the UK, and added, "No decisions have been made. The British public will decide."
Healey expressed a similar reluctance, telling Channel 4, "I'm older than Andy Burnham. I don't expect to see that," when asked if he anticipated seeing the UK join the EU in his lifetime.
The Chancellor also appeared to disagree with Burnham's claim that Brexit has weakened the UK economy.
Burnham has instructed ministers not to publicly back any specific future UK-EU relationship options after earlier confusion, though he denies silencing his Cabinet.
The prime minister continues to pursue EU agreements on food and drink and youth mobility, but maintains there will be no "fundamental change" to the relationship with Europe this Parliament.
