Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is confronting significant opposition from within her own party as she unveils controversial plans to overhaul Britain's asylum system.
Internal Labour Rebellion
The proposed reforms, described by some Labour backbenchers as "shameful", have sparked open rebellion within parliamentary ranks. Former Labour frontbencher Richard Burgon condemned the policy as scraping "the bottom of the barrel" and accused the government of a "desperate attempt to triangulate with Reform".
Ian Lavery questioned the direction of the party, asking whether Labour should reconsider its position when both the Conservatives and Reform UK support the measures. Stella Creasy warned the plans would leave refugees in "a permanent sense of limbo", while Nadia Whittome described them as "shameful" for a Labour government.
The Home Secretary's Defence
Ms Mahmood presented what she called an "uncomfortable truth" to MPs, stating that the UK's generous asylum offer compared to other European nations is attracting people to British shores. She argued that for British taxpayers, the current system "feels out of control and unfair".
"The pace and scale of change has destabilised communities. It is making our country a more divided place," the Home Secretary told Parliament. She emphasised that while there's never justification for violence and racism, failing to address the crisis could push more people "down a path that starts with anger and ends in hatred".
Ms Mahmood maintained that the UK remains an "open, tolerant and generous" country, but insisted that "to maintain the generosity that allows us to provide sanctuary, we must restore order and control".
Key Reform Measures
The proposed changes represent the most significant overhaul of the asylum system in recent years:
- Reducing initial refugee status from five years to a 30-month "core protection" system, renewable only if returning remains unsafe
- Extending the period before applying for settled status from five years to twenty years
- Removing automatic rights to family reunion for refugees under core protection
- Ending guaranteed housing and weekly allowances for asylum seekers, requiring those who can work or have assets to contribute to their costs
- Introducing enforced returns for families with children who have no right to remain in the UK
The latest Home Office figures reveal 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025 - the highest number since current records began in 2001. Nearly 40,000 people have crossed the English Channel in small boats so far in 2025.
Cross-Party Reactions and Warnings
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch argued the measures don't go far enough, insisting that leaving the European Convention on Human Rights remains necessary to properly address the issue.
Nigel Farage welcomed the "strong language" from the Home Secretary but questioned whether the plan would survive a vote against her own backbenchers. Ms Mahmood responded bluntly to his suggestion that her plan was "an audition to join Reform", telling Sky News: "Nigel Farage can sod off. I'm not interested in anything he's got to say."
Refugee Council chief executive Enver Solomon warned that while the reforms "sound tough", they risk creating more delays and won't fix the system's fundamental problems. He expressed particular concern about the regular status reviews, suggesting they would "create further chaos" and "overwhelm an overstretched system", leaving families facing years of uncertainty.
Allies of Ms Mahmood issued a stark warning about the political consequences of inaction, stating that "if we don't solve the crisis at our border, dark forces will follow".
