Reform UK home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf has warned that Prime Minister Andy Burnham's openness to closer EU ties could plunge Britain into an "existential" migration crisis, accusing Labour of wanting to allow 750,000 "small boat" nationals to "move here legally".
Mr Yusuf, Nigel Farage's home affairs spokesman, said Mr Burnham's suggestion of reintroducing freedom of movement was "insanity". He claimed that since 2020, 750,000 migrants from Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, Iraq and Eritrea have been granted EU citizenship, and that Mr Burnham wants to let them move to the UK legally.
Freedom of movement concerns
"Andy Burnham saying he is open to reintroducing freedom of movement is insanity," Mr Yusuf said. "It means 450 million people, plus anyone who can get their hands on citizenship of any EU country, will be eligible to move to the UK. With nothing to stop them.
"Since 2020, 750,000 migrants from the 'small boat nations' of Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, Iraq and Eritrea have been granted EU citizenship. Burnham wants to let them move here legally.
"Households with foreign nationals already took a record £11.9 billion in Universal Credit welfare payments last year – the majority of them EU nationals. Our public services, finances and culture are already overwhelmed. Burnham is determined to open the floodgates further. This is existential to the future of Britain."
Burnham's defence
Mr Burnham claimed he would not reverse a key component of Britain's decision to leave the EU without a referendum. However, Downing Street has rowed back on that claim, insisting the Labour leader is not "setting out a concrete position either way".
Mr Burnham defended reopening the debate, saying: "No, I mean I wasn't saying that yesterday. I was asked about how things have changed in the 10 years since Brexit, and the truth of the matter is we've lost immigration control in the way that we once had.
"For instance, the small boats crisis has arisen in the last 10 years because we lost that returns agreement when people came here that we could work with other countries to return them. And when it comes to immigration more broadly, we're seeing a situation where people are coming here to settle permanently, in a way that we had more revolving-door migration in the EU."
Upcoming EU summit
Mr Burnham said the UK needed to "have an honest discussion about that and take steps back to get a more functional relationship again" ahead of a summit with the bloc in November. "I want to use that opportunity to get a practical deal in place to support our farmers, our food manufacturers, but also to increase collaboration on immigration because we lost that and we need to get it back," he said. "So I'm talking about practical steps to deal with the things that matter to people, and I will never move ahead of the British public when it comes to Brexit."
The Prime Minister had earlier ruled out the possibility of rejoining the EU within this Parliament, signalling that he could fight the next general election on a promise to take the UK back into the bloc. He told ITV's Good Morning Britain: "I'm not proposing any changes in this Parliament. I'm not going to move away from the red lines that were in the Labour manifesto."
Mr Burnham will meet EU chiefs, including European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, for a key summit in Brussels on November 20 as he seeks to strike a better deal with the bloc. The Prime Minister wants to consider various longer-term options for a new relationship with Brussels, potentially including a return to full EU membership or joining the single market – which would require free movement.
Mr Burnham told The Sunday Times he wanted to have a "very factual, quite evidence-based debate about this" as he acknowledged freedom of movement "had very significant challenges associated with it". He said he could not imagine recommending joining the Schengen borderless area or ditching the pound to adopt the euro.
