Burnham Rules Out Immediate EU Rejoin, Eyes Future Free Movement
Prime Minister commits to current parliamentary red lines while hinting at long-term ambition for closer ties and potential policy shifts on immigration.
Sarah Connor
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has ruled out Britain rejoining the European Union within this Parliament.
He declared Labour's front benchers must support a free movement policy to retain their positions if such a policy were adopted.
The Prime Minister promised to adhere to Sir Keir Starmer’s red lines for the duration of this parliament. These include no return to freedom of movement, no return to the single market, and no return to the customs union.
Burnham, however, hinted he will fight the next election on the issue of taking Britain back into the European Union. He wants to see Britain rejoin the EU in his lifetime.
Over the weekend, Burnham opened the door to Britain readopting the European Union's free movement rules. He claimed he would not 'move ahead of the public' on rejoining the EU, and he also stated he would not re-run the referendum.
The Prime Minister believes Brexit has weakened Britain's economy and its control of immigration. He claimed the small boats crisis has arisen since Brexit, leading to a different form of migration, and stated, 'I don't think things have worked out as they said they would at the time, particularly when it comes to immigration.'
Nigel Farage claimed Burnham's comments are a betrayal of voters who backed Brexit. He asserted that immigration was different when the UK was a member of the EU.
Chris Philp claimed a return to EU free movement would mean handing back control of borders and allowing uncontrolled migration. He added that the British people voted to end free movement and there can be no return to it.
The British people voted to end free movement and there can be no return to it.
Burnham stated, 'I think we can make it better and I’m going to lead a discussion about how do we make it better in a way that people can support.' Speculation exists that he could go to the country early to secure a mandate of his own and put proposals to rejoin to voters, following a bounce in Labour’s poll ratings.