Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has pushed back against Angela Rayner's comments that proposed changes to migration rules are “un-British”. Labour has outlined reforms that could change how migrant workers claim settled status in the UK. Under the plans, the timeline for permanent residence would extend from five years to 15 years for foreign social care workers, applying to all those who have come to the UK since 2021.
Rayner's Warning and Nandy's Response
In an interview with The Times, Communities Secretary Ms Rayner – who was a vocal opponent of the migration proposals when she sat on the Labour backbenches under Sir Keir – warned that the reforms would “change the goalposts” and stood by her previous description of the package as “un-British”.
Speaking on Radio 4's Today Programme on Saturday morning, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said she did not think the planned changes to migration law were “un-British”, adding: “I don't think that we've ever had an automatic right to citizenship for most people who come to the UK from overseas.”
Balancing Contribution and Public Confidence
The Home Secretary is trying to “balance the respect and gratitude that we all feel to people who come to this country, who make a contribution” including “those who care for our relatives and whom the Prime Minister has spoken very movingly about how that has touched his own life recently” with the need for an immigration system the public can have confidence in.
She told the Today programme that Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood “wants to take the time to get it right” and that she “will act with care, thought and respect to those who make a contribution, but will not give people an automatic right to be in this country because that undermines confidence in the whole system”.
Future Plans and Upcoming Conference
When asked whether these plans would “reveal Labour's true colours”, Lisa said: “I think how we treat people matters, regardless of who they are or where they come from. I think the Labour government stands for that or stands for nothing at all.” She added: “We have a new system coming in and those who come here will know those rules. For those who are already here she's right to have said we will take a different approach…she will take care to get it right.”
Responding to whether Labour will change their plans, Lisa said: “We always reserve the right to change our mines, but also reserve the right to stick to our plans if we think we are getting them right. The question in her mind is how do we make sure we are fair and all that path to citizenship, while at the same time we have clear rules, a grip on the system and a grip on the chaos we inherited, and ensure we command public confidence.”
The comments come ahead of Andy Burnham's first party conference as Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is due to give a speech at the conference on Tuesday in Liverpool, which he hopes will set out the guiding purpose for the rest of Labour's term in power.
