Downing Street Gathering Evidence on Public Support for UK Rejoining EU

Senior officials in Downing Street have been reaching out to thinktanks and pollsters as they gauge public support for the United Kingdom rejoining the European Union, according to reporting on discussions inside the British government.

Aides to Prime Minister Andy Burnham have reportedly been in contact with EU policy experts across a range of organizations to understand how the public might respond to a pledge to rejoin the bloc. The outreach comes as momentum builds within the governing Labour Party around the possibility of including such a commitment in its next general election manifesto.

A Politically Sensitive Question

Reversing Brexit remains one of the most politically sensitive questions in British politics nearly a decade after the UK voted to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum. Previous governments largely avoided reopening the issue, citing concerns about reigniting divisive debate, but shifting public and economic sentiment appears to have prompted renewed internal discussion within government.

It is not yet clear whether the research being gathered by Downing Street will translate into a formal manifesto commitment, and government officials have not publicly confirmed the scope or timeline of the outreach to pollsters and thinktanks.