Burnham: Brexit is to blame for Britain’s small boats crisis
Andy Burnham blamed Brexit for the small boats crisis, arguing that leaving the EU weakened Britain’s ability to return people who arrive irregularly. He said immigration had not developed as promised and that people know the UK can no longer return them in the same way as before.
Burnham ruled out changes to freedom of movement during this parliament and said he would not move beyond Labour’s manifesto commitments. He said he would like the UK to rejoin the EU in his lifetime, but would not get ahead of public opinion. More than 200,000 people have crossed the Channel by small boat since records began in 2018; arrivals in the first half of 2026 were 41 per cent lower than a year earlier.
In short
- Burnham says Brexit weakened Britain’s ability to return migrants.
- More than 200,000 people have crossed by small boat since 2018.
- He supports eventual EU rejoining but rules out immediate freedom of movement changes.
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The case for
Leaving the EU reduced the UK’s access to shared arrangements for returning people who have no right to remain, which may make irregular crossings more attractive and harder to manage. From this perspective, Brexit weakened practical cooperation on migration, while the gap between promises and outcomes has damaged public confidence.
The case against
Small boat crossings have several causes, including conditions in migrants’ countries of origin, smuggling networks and the difficulty of policing a busy sea border; the figures alone do not show that Brexit caused the crisis. The UK can also pursue returns and cooperation through other agreements, so critics may argue that policy choices and enforcement matter more than EU membership.
Explained simply
The UK left the European Union in 2020. Before Brexit, it took part in EU arrangements that allowed member countries to return some people to the country where they had first arrived; the UK’s ability to do this changed after it left.
Small boats carrying people across the Channel have become a major issue in UK immigration debates. More than 200,000 people have made the crossing since records began in 2018, and governments have faced questions about how to manage arrivals and returns.
Andy Burnham is the Labour mayor of Greater Manchester and a senior figure in the party. Debate over Brexit and migration matters because it touches on border policy, the UK’s relationship with the EU and what future changes voters might support.