Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has ignited a fierce backlash within her own party after unveiling controversial immigration reforms, including a pilot scheme offering up to £40,000 for rejected asylum seekers to leave the UK voluntarily. The proposals, announced on Thursday, also include ending permanent refugee status and removing government support from asylum seekers deemed not in need or who break the law.
Mahmood defended the changes as necessary to restore border control and counter the rise of hard-right parties like Reform UK. 'The generosity of the British people will become conditional on those seeking asylum following the law,' she said in a London speech. However, Labour MPs have condemned the plans, with one backbencher likening them to Donald Trump's policies and another warning of a potential Windrush-style scandal.
Tony Vaughan, Labour MP for Folkestone and Hythe, organised a letter signed by 100 colleagues arguing the reforms undermine integration and social cohesion. 'You don't win back public confidence by threatening to forcibly remove refugees who have lived here lawfully for 15 or 20 years,' he said. Stella Creasy, MP for Walthamstow, echoed concerns, predicting a 'perpetual state of limbo' for refugees and an inevitable scandal.
The pilot project targets 150 families whose asylum claims were rejected, giving them seven days to accept the £40,000 offer or face forcible removal. Sarah Owen, a leader of the centre-left Tribune group, accused Mahmood of mimicking Trump's detention of children, calling the proposals 'the wrong direction politically and morally.'
While some changes, such as reviewing refugee status every 30 months, can be implemented without a vote, others require parliamentary approval. Labour MPs are gearing up for a possible Commons rebellion, with Creasy already objecting to secondary legislation that would remove support from asylum seekers with criminal sentences of 12 months or more.
