Reform UK has warned that returning to the EU's freedom of movement scheme would land British taxpayers with a multi-billion-pound bill. The party, led by Nigel Farage, claims the move would place a permanent burden on the public purse through welfare, infrastructure and other benefits.
The warning follows Andy Burnham's Brexit pledge being contradicted by his own Downing Street team within hours. The Prime Minister insisted Britain would never return to free movement without a referendum, but No 10 later said he was not proposing any return at all.
Reform's cost breakdown
Reform's figures claim that 744,679 EU nationals with settled status are already claiming Universal Credit at a cost of £7.8 billion a year. Of that total, £3.3 billion goes to people who do not work at all.
If net EU migration returned to its pre-referendum average of 164,000 a year, Reform says Britain would need an extra £3.3 billion every year on infrastructure alone. The party claims that would mean some £33 billion over a decade.
Additional benefit costs
The party also claims taxpayers could be hit with an extra £2.2 billion a year in benefit payments. Reform warns that the EU project has further transformed since the UK's vote to Leave in 2016.
Reform says 88% of the 1.17 million people who gained EU passports in 2024 came from outside the bloc, mainly from the Middle East and Africa. Should Mr Burnham agree to freedom of movement as part of talks with Brussels, they would have the automatic right to live and work in Britain.
Farage's response
Mr Farage said: "The British people voted to take back control of our borders. Any return to free movement would not only be a betrayal but would spell catastrophe for Britain.
"It would mean higher taxes, masses more pressure on housing, schools and the NHS, plus an open invitation for millions more people to come here and claim benefits. We will never accept it."
The climbdown has left the Government's Brexit stance in chaos. Speaking to reporters, Mr Burnham vowed he would "never move ahead of the British public when it comes to Brexit".
By the afternoon, his spokeswoman was rowing back. She said: "So, the Prime Minister isn't proposing a return to freedom of movement, or any option." She added that he was "crucially not leaning either way".
It came days after Mr Burnham told The Sunday Times he wanted an "honest discussion" about free movement. He is due to meet EU chiefs in November for a summit on the country's future relationship with Europe.
