# Burnham opens door to EU freedom of movement

> The Prime Minister says Britain should have an honest debate about rejoining the EU, potentially including free movement, ahead of a Brussels summit.
- Title: Burnham opens door to EU freedom of movement · The Independent
- Summary: The Prime Minister says Britain should have an honest debate about rejoining the EU, potentially including free movement, ahead of a Brussels summit. Prime…
- Keywords: andy burnham, labour, brexit, eu relations, freedom of movement, migration policy, nigel farage, reform uk, politics, news, Burnham, opens
- Source: The Independent — https://independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/andy-burnham-freedom-of-movement-uk-eu-brexit-b3072830.html
- Published: 2026-10-24T22:12:30+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: andy burnham, labour, brexit, eu relations, freedom of movement, migration policy, nigel farage, reform uk, politics, news
## Burnham calls for honest debate
Prime Minister Andy Burnham says Britain should have an honest discussion about readopting freedom of movement with the European Union.
## What Britain lost with Brexit
Burnham told The Sunday Times that ending free movement meant losing access to Eurodac, the EU's biometric database that assists border control and asylum management.

> Consider what we've lost, which was the ability to be part of Eurodac and all the data collaboration around migration.
## UK wants back into Eurodac
Major General Duncan Capps, the UK's border security commander, told MPs this week that Britain would very much like to be part of Eurodac.

> we would very much like to be part of that, however we can make that work
## Labour shifts on EU membership
Burnham wants to consider options for a new EU relationship, potentially including full membership or single market access, which would require free movement.
## Migration patterns have changed
Burnham said EU-era migration was different from today's challenges. He described it as revolving door migration where younger people came temporarily then returned.

> Revolving door migration where people would come and then go back is different. The balance of migration has changed, hasn't it, since then?
## Farage and Philp reject the idea
Nigel Farage called Burnham's comments a betrayal of Brexit voters. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said free movement would mean uncontrolled migration from Europe.

> This is a total betrayal of Brexit Britain and his Makerfield pitch.
## Burnham meets EU leaders in Brussels
Burnham will meet European Union chiefs at a summit on November twenty in Brussels and plans to lay out different options for the future relationship.
## Key takeaway

Prime Minister Andy Burnham says Labour should debate readopting EU freedom of movement, reversing the party's 2024 manifesto commitment against it.