Burnham says he has not proposed return to EU freedom of movement – UK politics live
Summary
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said revised settlement rules for migrants would prevent about 500,000 people from settling after five years, while acknowledging the changes are less strict than plans announced last year. Andy Burnham said he had not proposed restoring EU freedom of movement, though his comments have reopened debate about closer UK ties with the EU.Key Facts
- Mahmood said roughly 500,000 people who expected to settle after five years would no longer do so under the revised rules.
- The revised settlement plans are less strict than the version Mahmood announced in November 2025.
- Mahmood said the changes would save money compared with taking no action, but did not dispute claims that the savings would be lower than under the earlier plans.
- Mahmood said an impact assessment would be published later after being asked whether the changes could cost about £7.5 billion compared with the earlier plans.
- Burnham said he had not proposed bringing back freedom of movement.
- Burnham called for an open discussion about changes in migration since Brexit and said he would not act ahead of public opinion.
- The article says a return to the EU single market would involve accepting freedom-of-movement rules, while Labour’s manifesto rules out single-market membership before the next election.
- Mahmood said Labour was bound by its manifesto and did not state whether she supported the UK rejoining the freedom-of-movement system.
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