Burnham refuses to say 171,000-a-year legal immigration is too high - because it is 'planned'

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Andy Burnham has refused to say legal immigration is too high at 171,000 a year - insisting it is 'planned'. The PM said the level of net migration had 'come right down' and was in a 'much better place' - suggesting the numbers were needed for 'gaps in the economy'. The remarks, in an interview with ITV , come despite the latest official figures showing 1.7million people unemployed, and another nine million of working age inactive. Long-term immigration reached a record of 944,000 in 2023, but has since fallen dramatically.

The Tories have argued that is because of curbs they put in place. Speaking to ITV Tonight for a documentary about his first hundred days, Mr Burnham was asked if he believes 'immigration is too high'. 'I believe the numbers crossing in boats is too high, for certain,' he replied. Andy Burnham has refused to say legal immigration is too high at 171,000 a year - insisting it is 'planned' Your browser does not support iframes. Pressed for his view on legal migration, the premier said it had 'come right down'.

Reminded that it had still been a net 171,000 in 2025, Mr Burnham said: 'I think when you have planned migration, it's difficult to say is it too high or too low, because it's got to be, if you like, following gaps in the economy. 'Because if you just put a number on it, then we may have a shortage in a certain area, and then you're saying well we can't recruit people, it's got to be linked to whether the economy is.' Pushed whether he was suggesting legal immigration was 'in a good place' or still needed to come down, Mr Burnham said: 'It's in a much better place than it was because boat crossings are down and net migration overall is down and down quite significantly. 'So there's a much better control of it.

What I have argued is that migration and illegal immigration changed significantly with Brexit. And I think we've got to be honest about that.' Shadow home secretary Chris Phil said: 'Andy Burnham can't say if migration is too high or too low. 'Let me help him out. It's still way too high. 'Mass low skilled migration has to end completely. We have nine million economically inactive adults in the UK. How about toughening up welfare so some of them get into work?'

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What we found (2)

The Daily Mail reports Andy Burnham's ITV answer on immigration accurately and quotes him at length. In its headline and opening line it turns a single year's net migration figure into '171,000-a-year legal immigration'. In its own voice it sets unemployment and inactivity figures against his answer, making the shadow home secretary's argument before quoting him.

Uses figures that mislead
Minor
“171,000-a-year legal immigration”
Why this matters
The headline calls 171,000 'legal immigration' and presents it as a yearly rate.
The impression it gives
A reader believes 171,000 people a year come to the UK legally, and that this is a settled annual rate.
The context
The article's own body says 171,000 was net migration in 2025: arrivals minus departures, for one year. Burnham's answer refers to 'net migration overall'. The headline drops the word 'net' and the year.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“it had still been a net 171,000 in 2025”
- Elsewhere in the article“net migration overall is down”
Show it in the article
“legal immigration is too high at 171,000 a year”
Why this matters
The opening line repeats the headline's label. It states as the outlet's own description that legal immigration stands 'at 171,000 a year'.
The impression it gives
A reader takes the figure as a present, ongoing annual flow of legal immigrants.
The context
The body gives the figure as a net total for the single year 2025. Two paragraphs earlier it gives a 2023 figure under a different label, 'long-term immigration'. The reader is never told the two figures measure the same thing or what the base is.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“Reminded that it had still been a net 171,000”
- Elsewhere in the article“Long-term immigration reached a record of 944,000 in 2023”
Show it in the article
Makes the opposition's argument in its own voice
Minor
“come despite the latest official figures showing 1.7million people unemployed, and another nine million of working age inactive”
Why this matters
With the words 'come despite', the Mail sets unemployment and inactivity figures against Burnham's answer in its own voice.
The impression it gives
A reader is told, as the outlet's own judgement, that the jobless and inactive could fill the gaps Burnham describes. On that reading, his answer is contradicted by official figures.
The context
This is the Conservative argument. The article later gives it to the shadow home secretary in near identical terms. The article gives no evidence that the unemployed or inactive match the shortages Burnham refers to.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“We have nine million economically inactive adults in the UK.”
- Elsewhere in the article“How about toughening up welfare so some of them get into work?”
Show it in the article

What it gets right

“The Tories have argued that is because of curbs they put in place.”
The Mail attributes the Conservatives' claim about why migration fell to them, rather than stating it as fact.
“I think when you have planned migration, it's difficult to say is it too high or too low, because it's got to be, if you like, following gaps in the economy.”
The Mail quotes Burnham's reasoning in full, so readers can judge his answer in his own words.

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Burnham refuses to say 171,000-a-year legal immigration is too high - because it is 'planned'

Uses figures that mislead

Makes the opposition's argument in its own voice

What it gets right

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