Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has been forced into a significant climbdown on her immigration reforms after Labour Left-wingers opposed the plans, with Andy Burnham refusing to back her. The Home Secretary has watered down proposals that would have required migrants to wait up to 15 years before receiving "indefinite leave to remain" or "settled status".
The decision follows a rebellion by Labour MPs against her plans, which included Housing Secretary Angela Rayner and Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh. Under the current system, migrants who come to the UK to work can gain indefinite leave after living in the country for just five years.
Why the change matters
Indefinite leave to remain effectively grants migrants nearly the same rights as British citizens. Ms Mahmood explained the problem in a speech in March, saying: "At that point, they will gain access to welfare, free healthcare and social housing."
She added: "We must be honest about the scale of this. We have never, in the history of this country, had so much low-skilled migration in so little time. We estimate, based on findings from the Migration Advisory Committee, that the lifetime cost to the taxpayer will be £10billion."
Ms Mahmood continued: "That figure would be paid for by working people in this country. It would mean ever longer waits for the 1.3million people in this country on the social housing list and yet more pressure placed upon our National Health Service."
Rebellion and reaction
The Home Secretary's explanation prompted an outcry from Labour backbenchers, who said they had been contacted by angry constituents. Many Labour MPs argued it was wrong to "move the goalposts" or apply the change "retrospectively" to those who had already been in the UK for several years.
Ms Mahmood could have pressed ahead with the reforms if the Prime Minister had backed her, given Labour's large Commons majority. However, Mr Burnham was not interested in supporting the changes.
Care workers exemption
The Home Secretary has now announced that foreign care workers earning at least £25,000 a year will only have to wait five years for permanent settlement, rather than the proposed 15 years. Around 600,000 immigrants have been handed visas to work in the UK as carers in recent years.
In March, Ms Mahmood said: "For some of those who arrived on the health and social care visa as we now know, fraud was rife – with phoney care providers created to draw people to this country on a false promise of work. Absent action, over the next five years some 350,000 low-skilled workers and their dependents will qualify for settlement. At that point, they will gain access to welfare, free healthcare and social housing."
The phrase "absent action" underlined her wish to take steps to address the issue, but her Labour colleagues have stopped her from doing so.
