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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Esther Addley

Brexit’s back – but are British voters ready to contemplate a reversal?

Von der Leyen, in a blue suit, shakes hands with Burnham in front of an EU and British flag
Andy Burnham with the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, in New York in September. Photograph: Toby Melville/AFP/Getty Images

In February 2016, days after David Cameron announced the UK would hold a referendum on leaving the EU, he told workers in Slough not to imagine they could change their minds a few years down the line if they did not like how things panned out. Voting to stay in or leave was a once in a generation thing, he said. “This is a decision that lasts for life.”

Well times change, as the last prime minister but five could testify. A decade after Britain told Brussels where to go, Brexit is back on the political agenda. After years in which many politicians avoided any mention of the B-word, Andy Burnham broke the omertà in his party conference speech last month, saying he would look again at Britain’s relationship with Europe.

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