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Burnham backs migration linked to Britain’s economic needs
Andy Burnham declined to say whether legal immigration of 171,000 people a year is too high, arguing that planned migration should respond to gaps in the economy. He said net migration had fallen significantly and was in a “much better place”, while acknowledging that migration and illegal immigration had changed since Brexit.
The comments came in an ITV interview about his first 100 days. The article contrasts the 2025 net figure with 1.7 million unemployed people and nine million working-age people who are inactive. Long-term immigration reached a record 944,000 in 2023 before falling; the Conservatives credit restrictions they introduced for the decline.
In short
- Burnham would not call annual legal migration of 171,000 too high.
- He said planned migration should reflect gaps in the economy.
- Net migration has fallen from its 2023 peak.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
A defensible case for Burnham’s position is that migration should be planned around genuine labour shortages, helping essential services and businesses function when suitable workers are unavailable domestically. With net migration falling, tying future levels to economic needs could offer a more flexible approach than treating one annual figure as automatically too high, while still allowing government to respond to changing conditions.
The case against
A defensible case for a more restrictive approach is that high migration can add pressure to housing, public services and infrastructure, and may weaken incentives to train or recruit workers already in Britain. The figures on unemployment and economic inactivity suggest there may be scope to meet more labour needs from the domestic workforce, while the Conservatives’ argument is that tighter rules helped bring migration down from its record level.
Explained simply
Andy Burnham is the mayor of Greater Manchester and a senior Labour politician. Migration includes people moving to the UK to live or work, while net migration is the number arriving minus the number leaving.
The debate is about how many people should be allowed to come to Britain and how that affects the economy. Employers may need workers in some areas, while unemployment and people outside the workforce raise questions about how far those gaps can be filled by people already in the country.
Migration rules changed after Brexit, when the UK left the European Union. The Conservatives introduced restrictions while in government, and Labour has argued that migration should be managed in line with the country’s needs.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Burnham refuses to say 171,000-a-year legal immigration is too high – because it is ‘planned’”.