Andy Burnham has sparked Cabinet anger after he opened the door to a debate on a return to freedom of movement with the European Union, with the Home Secretary said to be “furious” at not being told in advance of his comments.
Shabana Mahmood and the rest of the Cabinet were not told in advance about the Prime Minister’s intervention and only learned of it after his comments were published in the at the weekend.
One Labour insider said Mahmood was “furious”, while a Government source suggested the remarks had “undermined” her immigration strategy.
Why you’re set to pay thousands more in income tax
Workers could lose thousands of pounds more from their incomes over the next few years – unless Chancellor John Healey acts to reverse his predecessor’s “stealth tax” rule.
What is the ‘stealth tax’?
The personal allowance – the amount people can earn before paying income tax – has been frozen at £12,570 since 2021, and the freeze was extended at last year’s Budget.
This creates a so-called “stealth tax” as salaries grow to keep up with inflation, causing workers to pay more in income tax and national insurance over time.
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How your tax bill will be affected
The biggest rises in tax are seen for those on salaries of around…
This is because every extra pound these people earn is effectively taxed at 60 per cent until they earn £125,140.
When you earn an extra £2 in this bracket, you pay…
40%
… higher rate income tax on it (costing you 80p), and you lose £1 of your tax-free allowance.
Total tax and lost allowance equal £1.20 out of every £2 earned.
Will Burnham change things?
Experts say it is unlikely Burnham will take action to increase the tax thresholds at the Budget, largely because of the cost.
However, reports this weekend have suggested there could be changes made for some pensioners.
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María Machado returns after months in exile – what we know
The Venezuelan opposition leader has finally come home to crowds of ecstatic supporters after more than 10 months away.
A triumphant return
On Sunday, she was spotted attending mass in the Lara state after being repeatedly barred from re-entering her home country.
She later travelled to Caracas where she was mobbed by jubilant crowds.
Machado wrote on X: “Night of reunion in our Caracas. For the reunion of each family, for the Freedom of each political prisoner, for the Freedom of Venezuela.”
Where does this leave Venezuela?
- In December 2025, Machado left Venezuela in secret to accept the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway.
- In January, US forces abducted former president Nicolás Maduro, her authoritarian political opponent.
- Maduro is now in jail in New York and due to be tried in June 2027. He denies all charges.
- He was replaced by deputy Delcy Rodríguez, the interim President.
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The American outlook
Machado’s return to Venezuela needed US approval.
The opposition figure gave Trump her peace prize in January after he made it clear he felt he had been snubbed.
Trump said: “I think she’s a very nice woman. She gave me her Nobel Prize, so how can I say anything else? And I hope she’s safe.”
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Chris Brown avoids jail over London nightclub attack
The singer was handed a suspended sentence after he admitted hitting a man with a tequila bottle in a central London club.
CCTV footage was shown where Chris Brown struck Abraham Diaw, connecting twice with his head, and then hitting his shoulder.
What you need to know
The 37-year-old admitted to affray earlier this year after attacking his former friend in Mayfair in February 2023. The incident lasted around 20 seconds and started at around 3am, the court heard.
On Monday at Southwark Crown Court, Brown was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment, suspended for 12 months.
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A ‘plainly dangerous’ attack
Brown’s vocal coach, Omololu Akinlolu, 40, who joined the attack, was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, and both men were ordered to pay £1,500 costs.
Judge Tony Baumgartner called the attack “plainly dangerous” and warned that “commercial success does not attract preferential treatment” in court.
In an interview with , Burnham said he wanted an “honest discussion” with the British public about a possible return to freedom of movement as part of a new relationship with the EU.
“I think you have to have a very factual, quite evidence-based debate about this,” he said.
‘He is still acting like a mayor’
Burnham argued that migration had changed since Brexit, with more people now settling permanently in Britain. Before Brexit, he suggested, EU migrants were “generally younger people” who stayed for a few years before returning home.
Other Cabinet ministers are also understood to be angry at not being consulted. One Labour insider compared the row to Burnham’s recent comments defending Manchester City’s owners after the club was found guilty of financial rule breaches, saying: “He doesn’t seem to realise the weight his comments have as Prime Minister. He still seems to be acting like he is a mayor.”
As exclusively revealed by The i Paper last week, a narrow majority of Cabinet ministers are understood to favour a return to the bloc. However, they remain divided over the need for a referendum, the pace of any move towards membership and the risk of reigniting the bitter divisions of the Brexit years.
Around 15 ministers are understood to support rejoining, compared with 13 who are either undecided or opposed, according to people familiar with their views.
Mahmood is already facing pressure to water down her tough immigration reforms, with housing secretary Angela Rayner and environment secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh raising concerns over plans to extend the wait for permanent residency from five to 10 years.
Burnham’s intervention has added to tensions over how Labour can reconcile tougher immigration controls with a closer relationship with Europe.
Since the interview was published, Downing Street has sought to distance the Government from the suggestion of a return to freedom of movement.
The Prime Minister’s official deputy spokesperson said on Monday: “The Prime Minister isn’t proposing a return to freedom of movement or any option. He is saying that it’s time for us to discuss what kind of long-term relationship with Europe is best for Britain.”
The spokesperson said Burnham was “crucially not leaning either way” on what Britain’s long-term relationship with the EU should be, adding that the public would have the final say.
‘I will never move ahead of the British public’ – Burnham
On Monday morning, Burnham was asked whether he would allow Britain to return to freedom of movement without a referendum.
“No, and I wasn’t saying that – [I will] never move ahead of the British public when it comes to Brexit,” he replied in an interview with ITV’s .
But hours later, Downing Street declined to repeat that assurance and would not confirm that rejoining the EU or the single market would necessarily require a referendum.
The Prime Minister’s spokesperson said Burnham was not proposing a “divisive referendum” or any specific option, but wanted an “honest account” of the choices available to Britain.
In his interview, Burnham also said he would like to see the UK rejoin the EU in his lifetime, but stressed that this would not happen in this Parliament, and it was not something he would “dictate”.
At the weekend, he told that while freedom of movement had presented “very significant challenges”, it “perhaps wasn’t as difficult” as the migration patterns that followed Brexit in 2020.
“Revolving door migration where people would come and then go back is different,” he said. “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.”
Wider Cabinet tensions over Brexit
Appearing on on Monday, Burnham insisted he had not advocated a return to freedom of movement, arguing instead that Britain needed to be honest about how Brexit had changed migration.
Burnham’s intervention comes against a backdrop of existing divisions within his Cabinet over whether Britain should ultimately rejoin the EU.
Mahmood told the Commons, on Monday, that Burnham’s call for an honest discussion is “not the same as settled policy”.
She said: “The Prime Minister has also observed that there were very significant issues with freedom of movement when we were within the EU.
“An honest debate means actually being honest about all of the aspects of that debate and not cherry-picking.”
The Home Office and No 10 were approached for comment.