Rayner and Burnham accused of Brexit Betrayal (Image: Daily Express)
Nigel Farage has hit out at a Brexit betrayal after an arch-Remainer and ally of Andy Burnham hinted she would back rejoining freedom of movement.
Reports emerged that Mr Burnham is open to heading back into the scheme, which allows for the free movement of people across and within the EU without migration controls.
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That follows years of wrangling between Labour politicians and eurocrats seeking a “reset” of relations between London and Brussels.
The Prime Minister is due to attend the UK-EU summit next month as part of those talks, after the crunch meeting was delayed when Labour ousted their previous boss – Sir Keir Starmer.
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Speaking on Sky News, Angela Rayner, an ardent Remainer and close ally of the Prime Minister, appeared to back plans to rejoin the scheme.
When repeatedly asked if she would support surrendering Britain’s immigration controls to Brussels, she initially attempted to sidestep the question.
Pressed on the matter, Ms Rayner said: “In terms of our future relationship with the EU, of course we should be having a conversation and understanding the facts of what could be possible.”
The Labour Party has come under fire for attempting to cosy back up to Brussels after Mr Burnham performed a U-turn on commitments not to reopen the Brexit argument.
Mr Burnham voted to Remain, campaigned to Remain, and demanded a second referendum when his side lost in the largest democratic vote in British history.
Speaking in 2025 at the Labour Party conference, he even said he wanted to see the country back in “in my lifetime”.
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Yet he changed position during the Makerfield by-election, a seat which voted 65% to leave the EU, and chose to run away when challenged on his evolving stance by the Daily Express.
When speaking at the Labour Party conference this year, he changed position again, saying he would press ahead with his party’s long-touted desire to “reset” relations with eurocrats.
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Over the weekend the Prime Minister appeared to go evern further.
He told the Sunday Times that an “honest discussion” was needed.
Mr Burnham said: “Freedom of movement had very significant challenges associated with it and I spoke about them in my previous time in parliament.
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“But, at the same time, it was a type of immigration that perhaps wasn’t as difficult [as now].
“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.”
Commenting online Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the Conservative Party, wrote: “This is yet another example of Burnham’s foot in mouth syndrome.
He hasn’t thought this through or the implications.”
She added: “Most people who voted for Brexit did so because they didn’t want free movement.
Too many politicians have failed to understand the significance and impact of immigration on communities.”
Veteran Brexiteer and Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage fumed that the Labour Party was staging a “total betrayal of Brexit Britain”.
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He added that Mr Burnham was also breaking his “Makerfield pitch”, a pledge he had made during the by-election where he said he would only work in the interests of his constituents.
Mr Farage told the Daily Express that Mr Burnham was “deluded to say immigration was different when we were members of the EU”, pledging to “fight this dishonesty”.
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The Daily Express has launched its ‘Give Us A Proper Brexit’ crusade, which calls for leaving the ECHR, a 12-mile border to protect British fishing waters and the cutting of EU red tape.
Labour has maintained that it is seeking to improve relationships with the trading bloc, which it says were harmed by bad deals struck by the previous Conservative Government.
Disclaimer: This story was generated with AI and is entirely fictional. It is intended for entertainment purposes only.
Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously.
Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
“BREXIT BETRAYAL!” FARAGE GOES TO WAR AS BURNHAM AND RAYNER ARE CAUGHT IN A POLITICAL FIRESTORM OVER EU FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT!
Britain’s Brexit battle has erupted once again after Prime Minister Andy Burnham and senior Labour figures reignited the controversial question of restoring freedom of movement with the European Union. The intervention has provoked an angry response from Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who has accused Labour of betraying millions of voters who supported Britain’s departure from Brussels in 2016.
Almost ten years after the historic referendum, Brexit remains one of the most divisive issues in British politics. Now, with Burnham openly questioning whether leaving the EU has delivered the promised benefits, the possibility of closer European integration is returning to the centre of national debate.
The controversy is particularly significant because it involves not simply trade arrangements but one of the central reasons many people voted to leave the European Union: control over immigration.
Burnham reopens the Brexit debate
In a series of interviews on 25 and 26 October 2026, Burnham argued that Britain’s current relationship with the European Union was not delivering sufficient economic or practical benefits.
Speaking about the possibility of restoring freedom of movement, he called for an honest, evidence-based discussion about how immigration had changed since Brexit.
The Prime Minister acknowledged that the previous European system had created challenges. However, he argued that migration involving EU workers had often been more temporary, with people travelling to Britain for employment before returning to their home countries.
He contrasted this with more recent patterns of migration involving people arriving on longer-term visas and subsequently seeking permanent settlement.
Burnham also suggested that Brexit had weakened Britain’s ability to cooperate with European countries on immigration enforcement.
His argument is that leaving the EU resulted in the loss of important information-sharing and asylum cooperation arrangements, making certain returns more difficult.
The comments have attracted considerable attention because Labour’s 2024 election manifesto explicitly ruled out restoring freedom of movement, rejoining the single market or entering the EU customs union.
Farage launches a furious response
Nigel Farage wasted little time in responding to the Prime Minister’s remarks.
The Reform UK leader described Burnham’s position as a “total betrayal of Brexit Britain” and questioned whether the Prime Minister had any mandate to reopen an issue that had already been decided through a national referendum.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on 27 October, Farage argued that Labour had received a substantial parliamentary majority after explicitly promising not to restore freedom of movement.
He also criticised reports that British and European officials were already discussing possible changes to migration arrangements.
For Farage, the central issue is democratic accountability. He believes that voters were promised a fundamental change to Britain’s immigration system and that politicians should not attempt to reverse that settlement without asking the public.
Reform UK is likely to make the issue a major part of its political campaign, particularly in constituencies where Brexit remains an important electoral consideration.
Angela Rayner adds fuel to the controversy
The political storm has become more complicated following Angela Rayner’s support for Burnham’s call for a broader discussion about Britain’s relationship with Europe.
Rayner has argued that the country should examine the potential advantages and disadvantages of closer European cooperation rather than automatically ruling out particular arrangements.
She indicated that the public should be given an opportunity to consider the possible trade-offs and that Labour should explain its position during the next general election campaign.
Her intervention is important because it suggests that the debate is not limited to the Prime Minister’s personal views.
Other senior Labour figures, including Ed Miliband, have also supported closer cooperation with European partners.
However, not everyone within Labour agrees. Some MPs representing constituencies that strongly supported Brexit remain concerned that reopening freedom of movement could damage public confidence in the Government.
The disagreement highlights a difficult question for Labour: how can the party improve relations with Europe without alienating voters who believe Brexit should remain a permanent political settlement?
Why freedom of movement matters
Before Brexit, freedom of movement allowed citizens of EU member states to live, work and study in other member states, subject to the relevant legal conditions.
British citizens enjoyed these rights across Europe, while EU citizens could move to Britain under the reciprocal arrangements.
Supporters argued that the system created employment opportunities, encouraged economic activity and allowed businesses to recruit workers from across the continent.
However, critics raised concerns about population growth, pressure on housing, competition for public services and the ability of national governments to determine immigration levels.
These disagreements became particularly important during the 2016 referendum campaign.
For many Leave voters, ending freedom of movement represented an essential part of restoring national sovereignty.
For supporters of European integration, however, the arrangement provided economic and social benefits that Britain should not have abandoned.
The latest controversy demonstrates that neither argument has disappeared.
Has Brexit actually made immigration harder to control?
One of Burnham’s most controversial claims is that Brexit has weakened Britain’s ability to control certain aspects of immigration.
He argues that the UK lost access to important European cooperation arrangements, including elements of the Dublin asylum system and associated information-sharing mechanisms.
These arrangements previously provided a framework for determining which European country was responsible for examining certain asylum applications.
Following Brexit, Britain no longer participates in the same system.
Burnham believes that restoring practical cooperation could help address some of the difficulties associated with irregular migration.
However, the small boats crisis cannot be explained by Brexit alone.
Smuggling networks, international conflicts, economic pressures, migration routes and weaknesses in domestic asylum processing all contribute to the problem.
Consequently, closer cooperation with Europe may provide additional tools, but it would not automatically resolve Britain’s border challenges.
This distinction will be important as the Government develops its proposals.
The economic argument behind closer European relations
Beyond immigration, Burnham has repeatedly argued that Brexit has damaged Britain’s economic prospects.
Businesses trading with European customers have faced additional customs procedures, paperwork and regulatory requirements.
Small exporters have been particularly affected by the administrative costs associated with selling goods across borders.
Closer cooperation could potentially reduce some of these barriers and improve opportunities for British manufacturers, farmers and exporters.
The Office for Budget Responsibility has previously estimated that Brexit will reduce long-term UK productivity by approximately 4 per cent compared with remaining in the EU.
However, returning to the single market or restoring freedom of movement would involve accepting obligations that the UK currently does not have.
The Government would therefore need to explain the economic benefits alongside the potential consequences for immigration policy and national regulatory independence.
Burnham insists the public must decide
Following the political backlash, Burnham attempted to clarify his position.
On 26 October, he explicitly ruled out restoring EU freedom of movement without a referendum.
He also confirmed that he was not proposing Britain should rejoin the European Union during the current parliamentary term.
Nevertheless, he admitted that he would personally like to see Britain return to the EU within his lifetime.
He insisted that the British public, rather than politicians, must ultimately determine the country’s long-term relationship with Europe.
Downing Street subsequently clarified that the Prime Minister was not proposing a specific return to freedom of movement or announcing an immediate policy change.
Instead, the Government wants to discuss the options available for improving Britain’s relationship with Brussels.
November summit could prove crucial
The next major development is expected at the UK-EU summit scheduled for 20 November 2026.
Burnham intends to use the meeting to pursue practical improvements involving trade, agriculture, food manufacturing and immigration cooperation.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other senior European representatives will be central to discussions about the future relationship.
However, securing a closer relationship will not necessarily be straightforward.
The EU has its own political and economic interests, and any agreement involving greater access to European markets could require Britain to accept additional obligations.
The question of freedom of movement is particularly sensitive because it concerns one of the fundamental principles of the European single market.
Any substantial change would therefore require careful negotiations and a clear explanation of the consequences for British citizens.
Britain faces another defining Brexit moment
The confrontation between Farage, Burnham and Rayner demonstrates that Brexit remains far from settled in British political life.
For Farage, defending the referendum result is central to his political identity. He believes that restoring freedom of movement would undermine the democratic mandate established in 2016.
For Burnham and Rayner, closer cooperation with Europe represents an opportunity to improve economic performance, strengthen international partnerships and reconsider how immigration is managed.
Neither position removes the need for detailed evidence and public scrutiny.
Britain must consider how different arrangements would affect employment, wages, housing, public services, trade and national sovereignty.
The Government must also explain whether it intends to pursue limited cooperation or eventually seek a much closer relationship with the European Union.
Ultimately, the future of Britain’s relationship with Europe should be determined through transparent political debate and democratic consent.
The Brexit referendum changed the country fundamentally. Nearly a decade later, the arguments surrounding immigration, sovereignty and economic cooperation are once again shaping the national conversation.
And as Farage prepares to challenge Labour over its European ambitions, one thing is clear: the Brexit battle has entered another chapter, and Britain’s political divisions over Europe are far from disappearing.