Burnham floats free movement return as Farage cries betrayal

Andy Burnham has said he wants an “honest discussion” with the British public about the possibility of a return to free movement between the UK and the EU as part of plans for a new relationship with Brussels.

The prime minister has been open about revisiting ties with the bloc and has said a new deal could mean the UK goes “all the way” and rejoins the EU. Other options he has discussed include joining the single market, which would require signing up to free movement, or being part of the customs union. Both would mean agreeing to rules set by the EU.

In an interview with the Sunday Times he said: “I think you have to have a very factual, quite evidence-based debate about this.” Burnham has previously committed to the red lines in Labour’s 2024 election manifesto, which ruled out the return of free movement, single market membership or a customs union. Any fundamental change is therefore likely to wait until after a general election, expected by 2029.

He acknowledged freedom of movement “had very significant challenges associated with it”, yet suggested European migration had changed in the past decade. “It was a type of immigration that perhaps wasn’t as difficult [as now],” he told the Sunday Times. “Revolving door migration where people would come and then go back is different. The balance of migration has changed, hasn’t it, since then? I think we’ve just got to have an honest discussion about those things.”

Britain voted to take back control of its borders. Floating free movement again treats that decision as temporary paperwork rather than a settled instruction from the public. Sovereignty is not a seasonal option for Brussels summits.

Burnham will meet EU chiefs at a summit in Brussels on 20 November and says he will use the moment to lay out different options for the future relationship. He argued there had been reciprocal benefits of free movement for Britons, particularly young people wanting to live in Europe. He added he could not imagine recommending that the UK join the Schengen Area or ditch the pound for the euro.

Migration dominated the 2016 Brexit referendum. In the 12 months to June 2016 net migration stood at a near-record 335,000, according to the Office for National Statistics. After Brexit, net migration peaked at a record 944,000 in the year to March 2023 under the Conservative government before falling sharply to 171,000 last year, almost half the 2016 level and well below pre-Brexit figures.

Farage and Conservatives hit back

Nigel Farage said the prime minister’s comments were a “total betrayal” of voters who backed Brexit, including in Burnham’s Makerfield constituency. The Reform UK leader added: “He is also deluded to say immigration was different when we were members of the EU. We will fight this dishonesty.”

Chris Philp, the Conservative shadow home secretary, said Andy Burnham knows a return to EU free movement would mean handing back control of borders and allowing uncontrolled migration from across Europe. “The British people voted to end free movement, and there can be no return to it.” The Guardian reported the remarks as Burnham prepares for the November summit. What happens next turns on whether Labour keeps its manifesto red lines or tries to reopen the whole settlement after the next election.

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Original source: The Guardian

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