Burnham open to return of free movement between UK and EU

BRUSSELS — British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has expressed openness toward restarting free movement between the United Kingdom and the European Union as the two sides prepare for next month’s leaders’ summit.

A return to free movement would not be a red line for talks, he suggested, as immigration trends had changed since the U.K. voted to leave the EU in 2016. However, Burnham said he would not “jump to a firm position” on the issue just yet.

“Freedom of movement had very significant challenges associated with it and I spoke about them in my previous time in parliament,” he told the Sunday Times.

“But at the same time, it was a type of immigration that perhaps wasn’t as difficult [as now]. Revolving door migration where people would come and then go back is different. 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.”

Burnham said at the Labour Party Conference in September that he is weighing different options for a reset of relations with the 27-country bloc.

He did not elaborate in his conference speech on the options he would present — but different figures within Labour have argued for joining the EU single market, the customs union, or rejoining the bloc wholesale. Rejoining the single market would require the U.K. to sign up to the EU’s rules permitting free movement of people.

His stance on freedom of movement marks a significant shift from the Labour Party’s 2024 manifesto, which ruled out a return to the single market, customs union or free movement, and comes one month ahead of a Nov. 20 summit where the EU and the U.K. hope to sign off on a set of agreements ranging from trade to climate regulations.

In his interview with the Sunday Times, he set out his own red lines, adding that he “can’t see myself ever recommending anything that would involve joining the euro or Schengen.”