British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he wants a discussion about returning to the European Union’s freedom of movement rules for workers, a key issue in the 2016 Brexit referendum which led to Britain leaving the bloc.
Building on previous comments about the need to rethink ties with Brussels, Burnham told the Sunday Times that the influx of EU workers into Britain before Brexit had posed very significant challenges.
“But, at the same time, it was a type of immigration that perhaps wasn’t as difficult (as now),” he said.
“Revolving door migration where people would come and then go back is different.
The balance of migration has changed, hasn’t it, since then. I think we’ve just got to have an honest discussion about those things.”
Official data has shown long-term net migration in 2025 fell to close to its level before a new post-Brexit immigration system was introduced at the start of 2021.
In September, two months after replacing Keir Starmer as Labour Party leader and prime minister, Burnham said Britain should consider options for its relationship with the EU, including possibly rejoining the bloc one day.