At Labour’s conference in September Andy Burnham suggested Britain might “go all the way(一路走到底；彻底做某事)” and rejoin the European Union. The prime minister’s counterparts in Brussels may have thought this an unserious(不严肃的；不认真的) basis on which to negotiate. The cabinet is split, as is Parliament. Mr Burnham sounds nonchalant(若无其事的；满不在乎的). As he breezily(轻松地；漫不经心地) remarked to The Economist: “Who knows how it plays out in the endgame(终局；最后阶段) here?”
在九月的工党大会上，安迪·伯纳姆暗示英国可能“一路走到底”，重新加入欧盟。布鲁塞尔的同行们或许认为，以此作为谈判基础并不严肃。内阁意见分裂，议会亦然。伯纳姆先生听起来满不在乎。他轻松地对《经济学人》说：“谁知道这里的终局会如何发展呢？”
Yet Britain’s prime minister has won a hearing in Brussels. Few there think rejoining is imminent(迫在眉睫的；即将发生的), and it is not at the top of anyone’s in-tray. But Mr Burnham’s is getting credit for breaking an omertà(缄默法则；沉默禁忌) in Westminster that has held since 2020, when the Brexit divorce was finalised. His musing(沉思；随想)s appear to Eurocrat(欧盟官员（常含贬义）)s as if he is probing the limits of British public opinion. It is quite a contrast with Sir Keir Starmer, his predecessor, who spent most of his time in Brussels stubbornly ruling things out. “It’s not just an internal Labour matter, no,” says a European diplomat. “It is something big, the start of a debate about rejoining.”
然而，英国首相已在布鲁塞尔赢得倾听。那里很少有人认重新入盟迫在眉睫，此事也不在任何人的优先事项清单上。但伯纳姆因打破威斯敏斯特自2020年脱欧离婚尘埃落定以来一直维持的沉默禁忌而获得赞誉。在欧盟官员看来，他的种种思考似乎是在试探英国公众舆论的边界。这与他的前任基尔·斯塔默爵士形成鲜明对比——斯塔默在布鲁塞尔的大部分时间都在顽固地排除各种可能性。“这不仅仅是工党内部事务，不是的，”一位欧洲外交官说，“这是一件大事，是关于重新入盟的辩论的开端。”
At a summit on November 20th, Britain and the EU are expected to finalise(敲定；最终确定) a package facilitating youth mobility(青年流动（计划）) and trade in food and emissions. In a speech around then, Mr Burnham plans to sketch out(概述；勾勒出) options for a long-term relationship. He insists he is open-minded(思想开明的；持开放态度的) about the possible model. But recently he has defended the free movement of people(人员自由流动), once a taboo(禁忌；忌讳), and pointed out the deficiencies of rule-taker status(规则接受者地位). Join the dots and they point towards Britain rejoining the EU.
在11月20日的一场峰会上，英国与欧盟预计将敲定一揽子协议，便利青年流动以及食品和排放领域的贸易。伯纳姆计划在届时前后发表演讲，勾勒长期关系的各种选项。他坚称自己对可能的模式持开放态度。但近来他为曾经是禁忌的人员自由流动辩护，并指出“规则接受者”地位的缺陷。把这些点连起来，指向的是英国重新加入欧盟。
