“The UK has less control over immigration post-Brexit compared to the period before Brexit.” — Andy Burnham. Our verdict: Unverified.
Andy Burnham made the claim in an article published by The Independent, dated 26 October 2026, discussing freedom of movement and the UK's immigration system.
Our verdict
Unverified
We could not find enough public evidence to confirm or refute Andy Burnham's claim that the UK has less control over immigration after Brexit than before it. The available sources describe how the immigration system changed, but none measure 'control' in a way that allows a before-and-after comparison.
Know something that settles it? Send us evidenceWhat we found
Andy Burnham did make this statement, and we can confirm that from the article in The Independent. But confirming that someone said something is not the same as confirming it is true. On the substance, the sources we found set out how the system changed: the UK moved from free movement for EU citizens to a points-based visa system, as described in government immigration statistics and in a report from the Migration Observatory at Oxford. These sources explain the new rules and show figures such as visa numbers going up and down. However, none of them define what 'control' means or measure it, so none can say whether control is now greater or less than it was before Brexit. Without a shared measure, we cannot reach a verdict either way.
The evidence
2 of 3 sources support the claim; none contradict it.
- Background
The Independent reports that Andy Burnham said the UK has lost immigration control compared with the pre-Brexit era. This confirms he made the claim, but not whether it is correct. [1]
- Supports the claim
Government immigration statistics explain that the UK moved from free movement for EU nationals to a points-based visa system after Brexit, and that visa numbers have fluctuated since. This describes the change but does not measure control. [2]
- Supports the claim
A Migration Observatory report explains that the post-Brexit system replaced free movement for EU citizens with a visa requirement, changing the legal mechanism for immigration control. It does not compare levels of control before and after. [3]
What we could not confirm
- Whether the UK actually has less control over immigration now than before Brexit, because no source we found defines or measures 'control' in a comparable way.
- The exact date the Brexit transition period ended, which none of the sources we found states explicitly.
How we checked
We looked at the original article where the claim was made, plus government immigration statistics and a Migration Observatory report on the end of free movement. We searched for any source that directly compares how much control the UK has over immigration before and after Brexit, and found none. We reviewed 3 relevant sources.
Sources
- [1]www.the-independent.com · What would freedom of movement mean for the UK in 2026?
- [2]gov.uk · Why do people come to the UK? Work · August 27, 2026
- [3]migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk · How is the End of Free Movement Affecting the Low-wage Labour Force in the UK? · August 15, 2022
- [4]Photo: Prime Minister's Office / Wikimedia Commons, OGL 3
Help us check this claim
We could not find enough public evidence to confirm or refute this claim. If you know of an official record, dataset, transcript or report that settles it, send us the link. We review every submission and update this fact check when the evidence changes the picture.
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