Downing Street Clarifies Burnham's Position on Freedom of Movement With the EU

Downing Street has been forced to explain the prime minister's position on whether the UK might return to freedom of movement with the European Union, after Andy Burnham said an "honest discussion" was needed on the subject.

Speculation grew after a weekend interview in which Burnham appeared to suggest that staying outside free movement would no longer be a red line in talks on bringing the UK closer to the EU. The interview, given to the Sunday Times, raised questions about how far the relationship with Brussels could develop. Confusion deepened when later interviews were read as leaving open both an eventual return to free movement and another referendum.

A Downing Street spokesperson responded by saying the prime minister was not proposing free movement or any other specific option. She said he believed it was time to discuss what kind of long-term relationship with Europe was best for Britain, and was pointing to the areas such an agreement could cover. "He is crucially not leaning either way," she said, adding that the decision would rest with the British public.

The spokesperson said Burnham's immediate focus was next month's summit and the practical arrangements the government hopes to agree there, which she said would add billions to the economy. She added that the government had not yet reached the point of confirming whether the public would vote on proposals to move the UK closer to the EU.

Pressed on whether Burnham accepted that returning to free movement would mean losing control over legal migration, she said he was not setting out a concrete position either way. She said he wanted a conversation with the public about what the long-term future with the EU should look like.

Burnham himself spoke on Monday. He ruled out rejoining the EU within this parliament, while indicating he could fight the next general election on a promise to take the UK back in. "I'm not going to move away from the red lines that were in the Labour manifesto," he said. Hours later, he answered "no" when journalists asked whether he would let the UK join the EU freedom of movement scheme without a referendum.

Asked if he wanted Britain to rejoin, Burnham said he would like to see that happen in his lifetime, but would not move ahead of the public. "You have to make sure that the British public are the bosses," he said. Challenged over how voters in his Makerfield constituency would react, given that 65% of them backed leaving, he said: "I said we wouldn't rerun the referendum and that's not what I'm doing." He added that the people of Makerfield would decide what happens in relation to Brexit.

He also dismissed the idea of an early general election on a changed manifesto. Speaking to GMB, he said: "There is no election coming anytime soon. People may as well put that out of their mind." Even so, he left open a future campaign promising full rejoining of the EU.

Burnham is due in Brussels for the UK-EU summit on 20 November, where he hopes to secure a better deal with the bloc. He believes the current Brexit arrangement has "weakened our economy [and] weakened our control of immigration" and is not good enough for the country.