Prime Minister Andy Burnham has ruled out allowing the UK to join EU freedom of movement rules without a referendum, insisting he will “never move ahead of the British public when it comes to Brexit”.
Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Monday morning, Mr Burnham was asked whether he would consider joining the scheme without a public vote. He replied: “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.”
Context of the debate
Over the weekend, Mr Burnham called for an “honest discussion” about a return of freedom of movement, prompting questions about the scope of his vision for closer ties with Brussels. He acknowledged that freedom of movement “had very significant challenges associated with it” and said he wanted a “very factual, quite evidence-based debate about this”.
The Prime Minister cited the small boats crisis as an example of lost immigration control, noting that the UK had lost a returns agreement that previously allowed cooperation with other countries to return people who came here. He also said the country was seeing people arrive to settle permanently, whereas EU membership had involved “more revolving door migration”.
Practical steps and summit plans
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. He said he wanted to use the 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 added: “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.”
No early election and long-term options
The Prime Minister had earlier ruled out rejoining the EU within this Parliament, telling 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.”
Asked when the public could expect to see a manifesto proposing a return to the EU, Mr Burnham ruled out an early general election but left open the possibility of fighting the next vote on a promise to rejoin. “No time soon, if at all, it’s not. It’s not about that. My mind isn’t on that. I don’t know if that is coming over here, but it genuinely is not on that. There is no election coming anytime soon,” he said.
Mr Burnham will meet EU chiefs, including European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, for a summit in Brussels on November 20 as he seeks a better deal with the bloc. He 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. He said he could not imagine recommending joining the Schengen borderless area or ditching the pound to adopt the euro.
