Burnham Denies Proposing Return to Free Movement in Talks with EU

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has denied proposing a return of free movement in talks between the UK and the European Union, saying any decision about the future relationship will be led by the will of the British people.

His comments came as two senior ministers expressed caution about talk of the UK returning as a full member of the EU or the single market and about the consequences of a return to free movement. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said on Monday that she wanted to abide by Labour's manifesto, which ruled out free movement.

In an interview with ITV, Burnham said he wanted an honest discussion about how immigration had changed since the Brexit vote. He said the shorter-term migration of people coming from Europe and then going back had been replaced with long-term settlement in bigger numbers by people from elsewhere with more dependents, which he called the 'Boriswave'. At the same time, he made clear that he had not proposed freedom of movement coming back.

The prime minister said the EU summit in November would cement a deal on food and drink and emissions trading, as well as a youth mobility deal, and discussions would then move on to how the UK could secure a long-term stable deal with the EU, with all options on the table. A draft text has been circulated among the 27 EU members, suggesting a final deal is close. The Guardian reported that UK ministers were prepared to spend as much as £450 million a year to give students from the EU discounted university fees if Brussels allowed the UK access to its Made in Europe industrial programme.

Burnham told ITV that he believed public opinion had shifted on EU membership, but he would not run ahead of public opinion; in his words, the public need to be the boss when it comes to whatever happens with Brexit. He said that for this parliament he was committed to the red lines in Labour's manifesto, ruling out a return to the customs union, the single market or free movement.

Mahmood, who introduced sweeping changes to migration rules in parliament on Monday, told Sky News she would not indulge speculation about freedom of movement and was keen on abiding by the manifesto. She said the prime minister himself had recognised that there were significant issues with the free movement of people, and that should also be part of the debate the country would have about its Brexit settlement and its future. But she also said there had been a loss of control over migration post-Brexit, and that losing access to EU-wide databases had had a very significant impact on the UK's ability to manage migration into the country.

Asked if she had been consulted about the prime minister's comments, Mahmood said she had discussed the issue with Burnham. She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the prime minister wanted an open discussion, that ten years on from Brexit it was right to have an open discussion about the terms on which the UK left and what the right thing was for its future, and that it was absolutely clear they were bound by the manifesto commitment not to reopen the question of freedom of movement in this parliament.

Immigration minister Anna Turley told Sky her priority was getting more young British people into jobs, sorting out the existing system, making sure there was an immigration system that was not chaotic and was controlled, stopping illegal migration through small boats, and getting a grip on removals.