UK Cabinet divisions over Brexit and EU migration offer under Andy Burnham, Digi Mart USA News (United Kingdom): Andy Burnham is preparing a significant offer on wider migration from the EU to secure a future Brexit deal, according to insiders, a move likely to stoke further tensions at the heart of government.
Any move that would increase migration is likely to meet resistance from Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who has already been forced to partially climb down over hardline reforms. Burnham is also said to have been “irritated” by Chancellor John Healey, who publicly contradicted him over whether the UK should fully rejoin the EU.
Closer ties with the EU could ultimately mean more migration from the Continent. Burnham is understood to have been persuaded that freedom of movement may be the most significant bargaining chip capable of securing meaningful concessions from Brussels, and that it is better to have the difficult conversation now rather than avoid it.
The Prime Minister has made no secret of his hope that Britain might rejoin the bloc in his lifetime. There is no suggestion he has settled on a policy position or a formal offer.
Michael Barnier, who led withdrawal negotiations for the EU after the Brexit vote, said on Thursday that while the door was open for the UK to rejoin, freedom of movement “is not negotiable”. In an interview with Sky News, he caveated that this was a personal view.
Freedom of movement is a key plank of membership of the single market, and it is unlikely the UK could go as far as Burnham indicates he would like without a concession. That calculation, however, brings freedom of movement into direct conflict with Labour’s domestic immigration agenda, which could prove difficult for the Home Secretary given her tough stance on immigration.
Mahmood has already faced a backlash over plans to extend the wait for indefinite leave to remain. She softened the proposals after opposition from Labour MPs and unions, retaining a five-year route for some care workers while extending the wait to 10 years for many lower-paid migrants.
Those familiar with the discussions, however, claim she is less of a stumbling block than some fear.
Healey, asked whether he expected Britain to return to the bloc in his lifetime, replied: “I’m older than Andy Burnham. I don’t expect to see that,” adding that his priority was to make the most of Britain’s position outside the EU.
Healey is 66, ten years older than the Prime Minister. Senior Whitehall sources suggested his comments had irritated No 10 ahead of the UK–EU summit in Brussels on 20 November.
Burnham’s next big test will be the UK–EU summit later this month, when attention will turn to whether he can translate his warmer rhetoric towards Brussels into concrete progress on food trade, youth mobility and defence. The contentious issue of university tuition fees remains unresolved, and any concessions to the EU will need to be balanced against domestic political and financial pressures.
Rachel Reeves, the former Chancellor, has also backed the reopening of the Brexit debate, saying in The Sunday Times that Brexit had made the UK “poorer, weaker and less secure”. She stopped short of calling for an immediate return to membership, arguing that supporters of rejoining must make a convincing case and demonstrate tangible benefits.
Ultimately, Burnham’s European ambitions will depend not just on how far he is prepared to go, but on whether he can bring his own party, his Cabinet and a sceptical public with him.
