Britain ‘in talks with EU’ about return to freedom of movement

The UK is said to already be holding talks with the EU about a possible return to freedom of movement after Andy Burnham reopened the debate on membership of the bloc.

Britain is reportedly discussing a series of options for closer alignment with the bloc, ahead of a crucial UK-EU summit next month.

It comes after the prime minister admitted he wants to see Britain rejoin the European Union in his lifetime – but insisted he would not return the UK to EU freedom of movement rules without a referendum.

While the prime minister insisted he would not “move ahead of the public” or “dictate” his own beliefs, he argued that Brexit has not “played out as people said it would at the time”. The prime minister also ruled out rejoining the EU within this Parliament.

Sources told The Times that the “conversation is happening” with the EU already, and that discussions would happen before any formal announcement by the prime minister.

Mr Burnham will meet EU leaders at a Brussels summit in late November, where the PM is hoping to secure a number of agreements for closer ties with the bloc.

The UK and the EU are hoping to come to an agreement on food and drink standards, as part of a sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement, as well as progress on the Made in Europe scheme, with UK negotiators hoping to secure a carve out from the scheme, which is designed to protect industries from unfair Chinese competition.

It comes just weeks after Mr Burnham said the UK could go “all the way” and rejoin the bloc, but insisted the British public will “be the boss” of the nation’s future.

He has promised to stick to Sir Keir Starmer’s red lines for the duration of this parliament – which include no return to freedom of movement and no return to the single market or customs union – but this weekend he signalled he could put a return to freedom of movement in Labour’s next election manifesto.

However, Mr Burnham insisted a general election would not be called “any time soon” amid speculation he could go to the country early to secure a mandate of his own and put proposals to rejoin to voters following a bounce in Labour’s poll ratings.

Speaking on Monday, the prime minister also blamed Britain’s migrant crisis on Brexit, arguing that leaving the EU had left the UK with “weaker control”.

“I don’t think things have worked out as people said they would at the time, particularly when it comes to immigration,” Mr Burnham said.

“I think we’ve got weaker control now. The reason the small boats crisis has arisen is because we can’t return people, and people know we can’t do that in the same way that we used to be able to do.”

The Independent has led the campaign for Britain to rebuild its relationship with Brussels on the basis of clear evidence that it has damaged the economy and failed to deliver promised benefits on a wide range of issues including immigration.

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