Ex-chancellor Reeves calls for UK to rejoin EU as Burnham summit looms

Former British chancellor Rachel Reeves has publicly argued that the United Kingdom's future lies inside the European Union, saying Brexit has made the country poorer, weaker and less secure.

Writing in the Sunday Times, Reeves said she welcomed Prime Minister Andy Burnham's leadership in confronting the question of Britain's future relationship with Europe. She added that supporters of re-entry must make the argument, demonstrate tangible benefits and get the next steps right.

Reeves was sacked as chancellor by Burnham when he entered Downing Street. The position breaks with the Labour manifesto she helped draw up at the last election, which committed a Labour government to remaining outside the EU.

Burnham last week expressed openness to restarting free movement between the UK and the EU and said he would like to see Britain rejoin the bloc in his lifetime, while ruling out a reversal of Brexit in the current parliament. At Labour's party conference in September, he called for closer links with the bloc.

Reeves said she hoped the 20 November leaders' summit would at minimum confirm a youth mobility scheme she has been pushing for. The EU and UK aim to sign off at that summit on agreements covering trade and climate regulations.