The opening comes in a radio interview with the BBC, where Burnham explains that he does not want to let the issue of the country's relationship with the EU "hang" for several years.
We can stay where we are. That is definitely an alternative, if people think it is right. We can also look at what (Conservative former Chancellor of the Exchequer) George Osborne has said about a customs union. We can look at what the Liberal Democrats have said . . . about the single market. Or we can go all the way, says Burnham in the interview.
The latter has been quickly welcomed by, among others, French President Emmanuel Macron.
"That would be very good news," Macron said during a visit to Madrid, according to the AFP news agency.
The UK voted in a referendum on “Brexit” in 2016 and left the EU five years later.
