Nigel Farage tears into Andy Burnham and Angela Rayner over a “total betrayal of Brexit Britain” after hints the UK could rejoin EU freedom of movement.
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.
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.
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.
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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”.
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.
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.
“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”.
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”.
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.