Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham is supporting Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s controversial immigration changes, his allies have said. Burnham is understood to back efforts to limit both legal and illegal migration, including the scrapping of permanent refugee status, despite criticism from some senior Labour MPs who have described the measures as un-British and reminiscent of Donald Trump’s policies.
Burnham faces a tough byelection in Makerfield against Reform UK, which has branded him “open-borders Andy”. However, sources close to his campaign said he would not seek to dilute the government’s curbs. “For Andy, migration is a moral issue as much as anything, showing people who’ve lost faith in politics that we do have control and we can do good,” one source said.
Mahmood’s package, announced earlier this year, includes ending permanent refugee status, removing state support from asylum seekers deemed not to need it or who break the law, and doubling the time required for some to achieve settled status from five to ten years. The changes have been condemned by Labour figures such as Angela Rayner, who called the retrospective adjustment to indefinite leave to remain “un-British”, and Sarah Owen, who likened the deportation of children to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention.
Mahmood has urged Labour MPs to back the reforms, warning that failure to do so could lead to a government led by Nigel Farage that would deport refugees “to certain death”. Despite this, the proposals have sparked outrage among some on the party’s left. Burnham’s campaign in Makerfield will be run by his close ally Anneliese Midgley and former transport secretary Louise Haigh.
The Conservatives have selected Michael Winstanley as their candidate in the byelection, ignoring calls from some Tories to give Reform a clear run to defeat Burnham. Meanwhile, Burnham has distanced himself from his previous support for rejoining the European Union, saying it is not an immediate priority.
