Burnham's Brexit "conversation" wobbles as Healey prepares his first Budget

Downing Street has appeared to backtrack on Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s suggestion that freedom of movement with the EU could not return without a referendum, hours before Chancellor John Healey delivers his first Budget today.

Asked by broadcasters on Monday whether he could introduce freedom of movement without a referendum, Mr Burnham said “no”, according to the BBC. But sources told the BBC no decision had been made, and the prime minister’s deputy spokeswoman later said: “The prime minister isn’t proposing a return to freedom of movement or any option.”

“He is crucially not leaning either way and that will be for the British public to decide,” she said, adding: “The PM thinks the Brexit deal is not good enough.”

In an interview with the Sunday Times, Mr Burnham had said he would welcome an “honest discussion” about the prospect of returning to free movement. He has also said he is committed to Labour’s 2024 manifesto, which ruled out a return of free movement, single market membership or a customs union, and that any change would need a mandate at a general election, which is due by 2029. “I can’t see myself ever recommending anything that would involve joining the euro or Schengen,” he said.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch argued that most people who voted for Brexit did so because they did not want free movement, the BBC reported. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said such a move would be “a total betrayal of Brexit Britain”, and that Mr Burnham, who goes to a key summit in Brussels on 20 November, “must not sign up to anything there without at least putting those minor changes to a general election”.

The Budget

Mr Healey will set out the government’s tax and spending plans today, Wednesday 28 October. The speech usually starts at about 12:30 UK time, after Prime Minister’s Questions, according to the BBC. The Chancellor has refused to rule out tax rises after acknowledging that government borrowing costs are at “historic highs”.

Ahead of the speech, HM Treasury published five “everyday fixes” on Monday. According to the Treasury, they are:

• locking in the 55p-a-mile tax-free mileage rate for the first 10,000 business miles, and raising the rate above 10,000 miles from 25p to 35p;
• extending two weeks of parental pay, currently worth up to £194 a week, to more than 150,000 additional parents a year, including self-employed fathers and partners;
• ending the Carer’s Allowance “cliff edge”, so carers lose £1 of support for every extra £1 earned over the limit instead of losing the whole allowance;
• removing import tariffs on more than 100 products, including baked beans, chocolate and gherkins;
• bringing the number of Post Office parcel drop boxes to 1,000 by the end of the financial year.

“Conflict in the Middle East and Europe is hitting families here at home through higher everyday costs,” Mr Healey said in the Treasury announcement.

What is expected, but not confirmed

Nothing beyond the Treasury’s announcement is confirmed until Mr Healey speaks. The BBC reports that bank bosses expect higher taxes on their sector, that there has been speculation about help with energy bills for households on certain benefits, and that low-income pensioners are expected to be shielded from income tax through a new personal allowance. Mr Healey has not said whether the freeze on fuel duty will be extended.

The independent Office for Budget Responsibility will publish its own forecast for the economy alongside the Budget.

This article was published before the speech. RealTeaNews will report what is actually in the Budget once the Chancellor has spoken.