Reform UK Shadow Home Secretary Zia Yusuf has accused Andy Burnham of betraying the British public after the Prime Minister refused to say whether legal immigration is too high.
In an interview with ITV, Burnham argued that migration should respond to gaps in the economy, rather than a fixed numerical target. Asked about current levels, he said: “I think when you have planned migration, it’s difficult to say if it’s too high or too low.”
Yusuf delivered a blunt response: “I’ll make it clear for him: it’s too high.
“The British people, time and time again, have made it clear for him: it’s too high.”
In fact, voters have consistently raised concerns about immigration being too high. Earlier this year, 69% of Brits said they thought that immigration over the last decade “has been too high”.
In an interview with ITV, Burnham argued that migration should respond to gaps in the economy, rather than a fixed numerical target. Asked about current levels, he said: “I think when you have planned migration, it’s difficult to say if it’s too high or too low.”
Yusuf delivered a blunt response: “I’ll make it clear for him: it’s too high.
“The British people, time and time again, have made it clear for him: it’s too high.”
In fact, voters have consistently raised concerns about immigration being too high. Earlier this year, 69% of Brits said they thought that immigration over the last decade “has been too high”.
This manifests in the mounting pressure on GP surgeries, hospital waiting lists, housing and the welfare system.
“Public services are on the brink of collapse because Labour and the Tories imported over nine million people in just 10 years”, Yusuf said.
“Each GP now has nearly 200 more patients than in 2015. We’d need 3,000 more GPs just to get back to where we were.”
He added: “We have over 6 million people waiting for hospital care, with 110,000 of them waiting over a year for treatment.”
The latest NHS figures underline the scale of the backlog in England. At the end of August, an estimated 6.24 million patients were waiting for 7.37 million treatments, with more than 113,000 waits exceeding a year.
Yusuf also highlighted the difficulties facing young people and families seeking a secure home.
“A million young people are still without work, having to compete with half the world just to get a job”, he said.
Official figures put the number of 16-to-24-year-olds outside education, employment or training at 981,000 in April to June. That measure includes both unemployed young people and those economically inactive.
On housing, Yusuf pointed to 1.3 million households waiting for social housing. Government figures recorded 1.34 million households on English council housing registers in March 2025, the highest total since 2014.
At the same time, 1.5 million foreign nationals were receiving welfare at an annual cost of £23 billion, and warned that Labour was expected to add another million people in the coming years.
Burnham maintained that migration overall had fallen and explicitly acknowledged that small boat arrivals remained too high. But Yusuf argued that his refusal to make the same judgment about legal migration exposed a fundamental divide.
“Burnham still can’t bring himself to say that’s too high”, he said.
“This is madness. And it is a betrayal.”
Setting out Reform’s alternative, Yusuf concluded: “Reform will deliver net negative migration.
“We will deport every illegal migrant and abolish ILR.
“We will put the British people first.”
“Public services are on the brink of collapse because Labour and the Tories imported over nine million people in just 10 years”, Yusuf said.
“Each GP now has nearly 200 more patients than in 2015. We’d need 3,000 more GPs just to get back to where we were.”
He added: “We have over 6 million people waiting for hospital care, with 110,000 of them waiting over a year for treatment.”
The latest NHS figures underline the scale of the backlog in England. At the end of August, an estimated 6.24 million patients were waiting for 7.37 million treatments, with more than 113,000 waits exceeding a year.
Yusuf also highlighted the difficulties facing young people and families seeking a secure home.
“A million young people are still without work, having to compete with half the world just to get a job”, he said.
Official figures put the number of 16-to-24-year-olds outside education, employment or training at 981,000 in April to June. That measure includes both unemployed young people and those economically inactive.
On housing, Yusuf pointed to 1.3 million households waiting for social housing. Government figures recorded 1.34 million households on English council housing registers in March 2025, the highest total since 2014.
At the same time, 1.5 million foreign nationals were receiving welfare at an annual cost of £23 billion, and warned that Labour was expected to add another million people in the coming years.
Burnham maintained that migration overall had fallen and explicitly acknowledged that small boat arrivals remained too high. But Yusuf argued that his refusal to make the same judgment about legal migration exposed a fundamental divide.
“Burnham still can’t bring himself to say that’s too high”, he said.
“This is madness. And it is a betrayal.”
Setting out Reform’s alternative, Yusuf concluded: “Reform will deliver net negative migration.
“We will deport every illegal migrant and abolish ILR.
“We will put the British people first.”
