Prime Minister Andy Burnham has called for an 'honest discussion' about whether the UK should return to free movement with Europe, signalling that staying out of it would no longer be a red line in talks with the EU. Burnham told the Sunday Times that rejoining the single market and accepting free movement could potentially be done without another referendum if Labour included it in their manifesto, though he said fully rejoining the EU would require one. His remarks were supported by senior cabinet ministers including Angela Rayner, the housing secretary, and Ed Miliband, the foreign secretary. Rayner told the BBC she would 'like to have an honest conversation about what the trade-offs could be, and then put that to the people at a general election'.
Stella Creasy, chair of the Labour Movement for Europe and Labour MP for Walthamstow, said Burnham was right that the UK was 'long overdue for a grownup conversation about what EU freedom of movement actually means'. However, Burnham's position has sparked concern among Labour MPs with heavily pro-Brexit seats in the north and Midlands. Jonathan Hinder, MP for Pendle, recently pressed the prime minister in parliament to rule out a return to free movement. One red wall MP said colleagues in the north-east, especially in coastal areas, had begun to raise serious concerns, adding 'Andy may have to work out if he can win without them, which is brutal but true.' Another Labour MP from a Brexit-voting area said it would 'undoubtedly put seats at risk to Reform', though acknowledged Burnham was making his argument from a position of strength following improved poll ratings.
Richard Walker, Labour peer and executive chair of Iceland, called reopening the debate a 'dangerous precedent' on Times Radio, arguing that opening borders would not help the '1 million young people that are out of work'. Opposition came swiftly from the right of politics. Kemi Badenoch, Conservative leader, said the idea was 'another example of Burnham's foot-in-mouth syndrome', while Nigel Farage, Reform UK leader, called it a 'total betrayal of Brexit Britain'.
Burnham's openness to the debate has been welcomed by business groups frustrated at the lack of progress on reducing paperwork required to trade with EU customers since Brexit. The British Chambers of Commerce called for the Treasury to analyse various economic options for different forms of EU-UK relationships, with head of trade policy William Bain saying the 'common understanding strategy' agreed in May 2025 was 'approaching the ceiling of what can be achieved'. Most economic studies have concluded that a closer EU relationship would benefit the UK economy.
Polling expert Luke Tryl at the More in Common thinktank said people tended to be less concerned about free movement given years of high non-EU migration, but would be more exercised about EU budget contributions or joining the euro. Net migration rose to 944,000 in the year ending March 2023, up from 330,000 before the Brexit vote. The Resolution Foundation estimated that if migration falls by 300,000 over the next five years it would translate to a £4.7bn hit to government tax revenues in 2029-30. The Office for Budget Responsibility has previously estimated that Brexit barriers to trade and free movement have caused a long-term hit of about 4% of UK output.
For savers, borrowers, businesses and investors in the UK, the debate over EU ties carries direct implications for economic growth prospects, with business groups seeing closer relations as key to reducing friction and boosting expansion.