Is Labour Lining Up EU Free Movement After the Election? Healey Rules It Out Only ‘For This Parliament’

News | By Matt, Editor

Labour’s Chancellor has ruled out a return to EU free movement, but only until the next election. Asked by GB News after his first Budget, John Healey said: “Freedom of movement is not on the agenda, and certainly for this Parliament it’s ruled out.” Then he called it “part of a bigger discussion about how we get a better Brexit deal”. (GB News, 29 October 2026)

It came days after Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he wanted an “honest discussion” about free movement, and weeks before he goes to Brussels for an EU summit on 20 November. GB News reported that Healey left the door open to Britain signing up after the general election. Labour has made no decision, and Healey said it is ruled out this Parliament. But Labour’s 2024 manifesto did not say “for this Parliament”. It said: “There will be no return to… freedom of movement.” (The Guardian; Labour Party)

Key facts

• The words: free movement is “not on the agenda” and “for this Parliament it’s ruled out”, Healey told GB News’s Christopher Hope on Budget day, Wednesday 28 October. (GB News; POLITICO)
• The promise: “There will be no return to the single market, the customs union, or freedom of movement.” (Labour manifesto, 2024) (Labour Party)
• The voters: Healey’s Rawmarsh and Conisbrough seat is estimated at about 69% Leave. Rotherham voted 67.9% Leave, Doncaster 69.0%. (Electoral Commission; Electoral Calculus estimate)
• The date: Burnham meets EU leaders in Brussels on 20 November. (The Guardian)
• The status: no decision has been made and no deal on free movement has been agreed.

What Healey said

Pressed on free movement, Healey said: “Inevitably it’s part of a bigger discussion about how we get a better Brexit deal and Britain does better after the ten years of Brexit deal that’s failing the country.” (GB News)

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He added: “Now, the Prime Minister wants that bigger conversation. My first focus is this European Summit that’s coming up next month, and I want to make sure that we can negotiate some better terms and lower costs for our business.” (GB News)

Asked whether he backed going further if it helped the economy, he said: “No, I’m in favour of accepting that we’ve got a Brexit decision… my job as Chancellor is to make sure that we can reinforce the economy.” (GB News; POLITICO)

What Burnham said last weekend

In a Sunday Times interview reported on 25 October, Burnham said he wanted an “honest discussion” with the public about free movement. “It was a type of immigration that perhaps wasn’t as difficult [as now],” he said. “Revolving-door migration where people would come and then go back is different… I think we’ve just got to have an honest discussion about those things.” (The Guardian, 25 October 2026)

On Monday 26 October, the BBC reported that Burnham said “no” when asked if he could bring in free movement without a referendum. Downing Street then said he was “not leaning either way”. (BBC News) The full record is in our report on the talks, and Burnham’s own 2016 warning is in “race to the bottom”.

The promise Labour made

Free movement was the red line Labour campaigned on. In May 2025 Keir Starmer told MPs that free movement was at “the heart” of the referendum, which is why Labour ruled it out. (Hansard) Now the Prime Minister wants to talk about it and his Chancellor calls the Brexit deal “failing the country”.

A Leave heartland

Healey speaks for one of the most Leave-voting parts of England. About two-thirds of voters in his seat are estimated to have backed Leave in 2016. (Electoral Commission; Electoral Calculus estimate)

The Ireland comparison

GB News reported that Healey left the door open to “mirroring Ireland’s arrangement with the EU”. Ireland has free movement because it is a full EU member. The separate Common Travel Area, the Government says, “pre-dates both British and Irish membership of the EU and is not dependent on it”. (GB News; GOV.UK)

Reform’s line

As of Thursday morning, Reform UK had not responded to Healey’s remarks. When Burnham floated the idea, Nigel Farage called it “a total betrayal of Brexit Britain and his Makerfield pitch”, as we reported, and Zia Yusuf called it “insanity”. (Reform UK, 26 October 2026) On 27 October Farage said Burnham had “no mandate to be in Brussels, to be negotiating any of this”. (BBC News)

Our view

This section is opinion.

“Ruled out for this Parliament” is not ruled out. It is a date. The Prime Minister wants an “honest discussion”. His Chancellor calls free movement part of a “bigger discussion” and the Brexit deal “failing”. The summit is weeks away. Labour has decided nothing, but the pattern points one way.

If Labour goes into the next election without repeating its 2024 promise in full, voters should read that as a warning that the red line could go. About two-thirds of Healey’s own voters backed Leave. They, and the rest of the country, should demand a straight answer before the election, not after it: will Labour ever bring back free movement, yes or no?

FAQ

Has Labour brought back free movement?

No. Healey says it is “not on the agenda” and ruled out for this Parliament, which must end by 2029. No decision or deal exists. (GB News)

Could it come back after the election?

Healey would not rule that out, calling it “part of a bigger discussion”. The BBC reported Burnham said “no” to bringing it in without a referendum. (GB News; BBC News)

Sources

• GB News, 29 October 2026: John Healey admits the UK could sign up to EU freedom of movement after general election
• GB News, 29 October 2026: John Healey insists Labour is doing a good job on migration
• POLITICO London Playbook, 29 October 2026: Kicking cans and downing pints
• The Guardian, 25 October 2026: Andy Burnham says he wants honest discussion about freedom of movement with EU
• BBC News, 26 October 2026: No 10 appears to backtrack on PM’s freedom of movement referendum suggestion
• BBC News, 27 October 2026: UK and EU officials to discuss freedom of movement
• Reform UK, 26 October 2026: Nigel Farage slams Andy Burnham on freedom of movement
• Labour Party, 2024: Manifesto: Britain reconnected; Hansard, 20 May 2025: UK-EU Summit
• Electoral Commission: EU referendum results, Yorkshire and the Humber; Electoral Calculus: Rawmarsh and Conisbrough (estimate)
• GOV.UK: Common Travel Area guidance; ONS: Long-term international migration, year ending December 2025
• Main image: Chancellor John Healey speaking to GB News after his first Budget. Screengrab: GB News interview, 28 October 2026.