Rejoining the EU as a member state no longer off the agenda

Agriculture was barely mentioned at the Labour party conference, but one issue high on the agenda could have a big impact on farming. 

That was the shift towards a stronger relationship with the EU and even hints Labour could eventually bite the bullet of a return to membership.  That remains a distant possibility, but there are prospects the party's manifesto for the next election could include joining the single market. 

This would have a big impact on the red tape that wraps exports to our nearest and best market for food. 

The message from the prime minister downwards was that Brexit has been an economic and social failure.  In reality it never had a chance to prove whether it could be better; the politicians that pressed for it lacked the interest or courage to fully implement it. 

As a result we ended up in agriculture with not even CAP light, but a greener support structure than the EU and crucially one with a lot less money and political support or interest.  This underlined the political failure of Brexit; it then faced the massive headwinds of Covid and wars in Ukraine and now the Middle East. 

This made the isolationism of Brexit uncomfortable in a new world order, adding a never expected dimension to the economic problems that were forecast from distancing ourselves from a massive, prosperous market on our doorstep.

Andy Burnham was being kind and diplomatic when he described Brexit as a policy that had done more harm that good. 

Over his commitment to review relations now and to open a debate on eventually rejoining the EU he has been accused by the Conservatives of re-opening old wounds.  That is ironic since the wounds of Brexit were seen as the solution to decades of Tory battles over Europe. 

The wounds being re-opened are more a Conservative than a Labour problem.  For now Burnham is only reviewing relations with Europe; there might be a deal on free movement for young people, but it will be the next election where Labour may come to voters with a very different offer on the UK's place in Europe. 

This does not address the equally problematic issue of whether the EU would want the UK back as a member state. That depends on whether by then it can demonstrate political stability, rather than another decade on frequent changes of prime minister against a backdrop of economic malaise. 

Come the next election this could be the real battleground between Labour and Reform, with the Conservatives thrust back into the mess EU relations have been for the party since the days of John Major as prime minister.

Burnham has embarked on an agenda for change. 

Much of this thinking, not least on the triple lock for pensions, is high risk.  However one poll has suggested better relations with the EU could be the most certain path to Labour securing a majority after the next election. 

The poll looked at various options from a light touch agreement on free movement, through rejoining the single market to a full request to rejoin the EU.  All those options had the potential to deliver a healthy election outcome, but a full-blooded rejoining offered the best potential for a comfortable majority, since it would obliterate the Greens and leave Reform with its pro-Brexit approach out of step with pubic opinion. 

This would be the ultimate high wire act for Burnham, but based on his commitment to change this is where he seems willing to be.

Away from the heady world of politics, farmers have got well used to being on the receiving end of criticism about how they produce food and maintain the countryside. 

A willing media offers armchair urban environmentalists and foodies a platform.  But a survey by the EU of attitudes to agriculture was refreshingly different.  The public, it seems, are more sympathetic to farmers than politicians or the media. This was confirmed by a Eurobarometer survey by the European Commission as debate continues about reshaping the CAP. 

This found that a truly impressive 95% of people believe agriculture and rural areas are important to Europe's future.   Perhaps even more surprisingly, half of those questioned believed more EU funding should go to farming over the next decade. 

The survey confirmed a firm belief that support for agriculture was key to delivery on issues such as climate change, with food security edging even this as a priority for people in the years ahead.