A call for a factual debate on mobility
Andy Burnham has said he wants a candid, evidence-led conversation with the British public about whether free movement between the UK and the EU could be restored, as part of his thinking on a fresh relationship with the bloc. In an interview with the Sunday Times, he argued the subject deserves a debate grounded in facts rather than assumption.[S1][S2][S3][S4][S5][S6][S7]
The prime minister has spoken openly about wanting to revisit Britain's ties with Brussels, suggesting a new arrangement could see the UK go all the way and rejoin the EU. Other paths he has raised include single market membership, which would entail accepting free movement, or joining the customs union. Each would mean agreeing to rules set in Brussels.[S1]
Manifesto limits and the road to 2029
Burnham had earlier committed himself to the limits set out in Labour's 2024 election platform, which ruled out restoring free movement, joining the single market or entering a customs union. Because of that pledge, a major overhaul of the UK-EU relationship would most likely be deferred until a general election takes place, with the next one anticipated around 2029.[S1]
He has said he will use the period around a summit with EU leaders in Brussels on 20 November to set out for the British public the different options for the future relationship. He added that he could not envisage recommending that the UK join the Schengen Area, where border checks have been removed, or abandon the pound for the euro.[S1]
Migration then and now
The prime minister conceded that free movement carried very significant difficulties, but suggested European migration had altered over the past decade. He described the earlier pattern as a kind of immigration that may have been less troublesome than today's, contrasting revolving-door movement, in which people arrived and later left, with the current picture. He said the balance of migration had shifted since then.[S1]
He also pointed to reciprocal gains for Britons under free movement, especially young people eager to live in Europe. Migration dominated the 2016 referendum campaign. In the year to June 2016, the month of the leave vote, net migration stood at a near-record 335,000, according to the Office for National Statistics.[S1]
Later decisions produced far higher figures. Net migration reached a record 944,000 in the year to March 2023, driven by a surge of foreign workers encouraged to come by Boris Johnson's Conservative government as the country emerged from the Covid pandemic. It has since fallen sharply, dropping to 171,000 last year, well below pre-Brexit levels and almost half the 2016 figure.[S1]
Opposition from Farage and the Tories
Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, described the prime minister's remarks as a total betrayal of voters who backed Brexit, including those in Burnham's Makerfield constituency. He also dismissed as deluded the suggestion that immigration had been different while Britain was an EU member, and said his party would fight what he called dishonesty.[S1]
Chris Philp, the Conservative shadow home secretary, argued that returning to EU free movement would mean surrendering control of the borders and permitting uncontrolled migration from across Europe. He said the British people had voted to end free movement and that there could be no return to it.[S1]
