Andy Burnham has said he has not proposed bringing back freedom of movement between the UK and the European Union, but believes there should be an “honest discussion” about how immigration has changed since Brexit. He also said the public should be “the boss” of any decisions about the UK’s future relationship with the EU.
In an interview with ITV for a documentary due to be broadcast, Burnham said shorter-term migration from Europe, followed by people returning home, had been replaced by larger numbers of people settling in the UK for longer. He said public opinion had changed, but added that he would not get ahead of it.
Burnham has not made specific proposals for a new relationship with the EU. However, his comments have reopened debate about closer ties, including the possibility of returning to the single market, which would involve accepting freedom-of-movement rules. He has also said he would like the UK to rejoin the EU in his lifetime.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood was also asked about freedom of movement in interviews. She declined to say whether she supported the UK rejoining the system and said Labour was bound by its manifesto, which rules out single market membership before the next election.
The discussion comes as Mahmood defends changes to her plans for tightening the rules on indefinite leave to remain. She said roughly half a million people who had been expected to settle after five years would no longer do so. Asked whether a concession for care workers would mean £7.5bn less in savings than under the original plan, she said the figure would be addressed in an impact assessment. She maintained that the revised measures would still deliver billions in savings to the Department for Work and Pensions.
Sources: The Guardian World.