Kemi Badenoch has accused Andy Burnham of weakening the government's immigration crackdown to "unite the left behind him to call an election," warning that the move will inflate the benefits bill "because Labour is addicted to welfare."
The Conservative leader condemned Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood's decision to soften proposed immigration rules, saying the Conservatives, if they win the next General Election, will "review and stop" indefinite leave to remain (ILR) granted to foreign nationals who are not a "net contributor."
Home Secretary's Climbdown
Ms Mahmood confirmed on Monday that care workers will be able to apply for ILR after five years—ten years earlier than her original proposals—if they have earned £25,000-per-year in the sector. She also dropped plans to restrict benefits to British citizens, watered down the qualifying period for lower-skilled, lower-paid migrants from 15 to 10 years, and paved the way for illegal arrivals to settle.
Revised Home Office estimates show 1.9 million foreign nationals will get ILR by 2030, up from the 1.6 million estimate from last November. Only 500,000 migrants will face a longer wait, with 300,000 care workers set to be spared from the crackdown that would have made it harder for them to access benefits, get a council house, or receive free NHS treatment.
Badenoch's Warning
Mrs Badenoch said: "Shabana knows what she is doing is wrong. So why has she caved? It's because Labour is addicted to welfare. And what they are doing gives potentially hundreds of thousands of low-paid foreign nationals access to a life on benefits paid for by your taxes."
She added: "Andy Burnham thinks that is fair. It's not fair. The truth is, he is appeasing the hard Left. He's ditched the Home Secretary's tougher proposals so that he can unite the left behind him to call an election."
Ms Mahmood said preventing 400,000 care workers and their dependants from getting ILR would save taxpayers £10bn, but conceded her u-turn would lead to much smaller savings. Mrs Badenoch declared: "Labour are the welfare party, obsessed with benefits, even if you're not British. Why? Because it helps them get votes."
Reform's Response
Reform UK's home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf said: "This is another major u-turn and it's another kick in the teeth for the British people. Remember, Shabana Mahmood herself called the Boris Wave a scandal. Even Keir Starmer, remember him? Keir Starmer called it a one-nation open borders experiment."
He added: "Even the Treasury's own numbers on their own website say that the cost of this cohort being u-turned on and being given accelerated settlement in this country will be north of £10 billion. Our numbers, the number will be ten times bigger than that."
Yusuf said Reform would immediately review every British passport handed out to people who would have received one as a direct result of the u-turn, following Nigel Farage's earlier vow to review passports given to migrants who arrived during the "BorisWave" between 2021 and 2025.
