Highlights
- Burnham says Britain should have an “honest discussion” about EU free movement.
- He is considering options for closer ties with Brussels, including single market membership.
- Conservatives and Reform UK accuse him of going against the 2016 Brexit vote.
PRIME MINISTER Andy Burnham has said that he is open to discussing a return to European Union free movement, reopening one of the most divisive issues in British politics ahead of talks with EU leaders next month.
In an interview with the Sunday Times, Burnham said migration to Britain had changed since Brexit and called for an evidence-based debate about whether the country should reconsider the rules that allowed EU citizens to live and work in the UK.
“I think you have to have a very factual, quite evidence-based debate about this,” he said, indicating that staying outside the free movement system would not be a red line in negotiations with Brussels.
Burnham said migration during Britain's EU membership had often involved younger people coming to the country for a few years before returning home.
“It was generally younger people, not always, but spending a few years, then going back,” he said. “And obviously the ease of that worked for British people as well.”
He acknowledged that free movement had brought significant challenges but argued that the pattern of migration had changed.
“Revolving door migration where people would come and then go back is different,” he was quoted as saying. “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.”
Resetting relations with Brussels
Burnham's comments come ahead of a summit in Brussels on November 20, where he is expected to present options for closer relations between Britain and the EU.
He has said he wants to explore a new relationship with the bloc, potentially including full EU membership or joining the single market. Both options would involve free movement, although the terms of any future arrangement would depend on negotiations.
In a BBC interview in September, Burnham said Britain could go “all the way” towards rejoining the EU.
However, he ruled out recommending that Britain join the euro or the Schengen passport-free travel area.
“I can't see myself ever recommending anything that would involve joining the euro or Schengen,” he told the Sunday Times.
Burnham's position marks a willingness to reopen debates that shaped the 2016 referendum, when voters backed leaving the EU. Free movement was a central issue in the campaign, with supporters of Brexit arguing that Britain needed greater control over immigration.
The prime minister has previously said any fundamental change to Britain's relationship with the EU would require a mandate at a general election, which must be held by 2029.
Labour's 2024 election manifesto ruled out returning to free movement, joining the single market or entering a customs union.
Opposition accuses PM of betrayal
Burnham's remarks drew criticism from opposition politicians, who said a return to free movement would go against the referendum result.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the British public had voted to end the system and there could be no return to it.
“The British people voted to end free movement, and there can be no return to it,” he said.
Philp argued that restoring the rules would mean “handing back control of our borders and allowing uncontrolled migration from across Europe”.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage also accused Burnham of betraying voters who supported Brexit.
“This is a total betrayal of Brexit Britain and his Makerfield pitch,” Farage said, referring to the prime minister's campaign in the Greater Manchester constituency.
“He is also deluded to say immigration was different when we were members of the EU. We will fight this dishonesty,” he added.
Brexit debate returns
Burnham won the Makerfield seat at a by-election in June, before becoming prime minister the following month. The constituency voted to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum.
During the by-election campaign, he had promised not to “re-run” the Brexit arguments and said he was “not proposing that the UK considers rejoining the EU”.
His latest comments suggest he is willing to consider a wider debate about Britain's future relationship with Europe, including whether changes to migration arrangements could form part of a broader agreement.
