The Labour Party has been accused of lacking "courage" to implement its own settlement proposals after more than 200,000 migrants were granted the right to remain in the UK. Over 200,000 people who arrived legally on visas have been granted indefinite leave to remain (ILR) since tougher restrictions were proposed last year.
Government's Settlement Proposals
Last November, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood suggested that a 10-year qualifying period - double the current five years - should be applied retrospectively to people already living and working in the UK who have not yet been granted settled status. However, as in-party fighting broke out, led by Angela Rayner, 5,000 people who have lived in the UK for five years have been granted settlement every week.
Chris Philp, the Shadow Home Secretary, told the Daily Mail that Shabana Mahmood "continues to refuse to implement her own indefinite leave to remain changes to stop this." He asked: "Why is she delaying? It's because she's scared of Angela Rayner and the Left of the Labour Party, and she hasn't got the courage to implement her own plans."
Earned Settlement and Retrospective Plans
Migrants who have lived and worked in the UK for five years can claim ILR - also known as settlement - which allows them to live, work, and study in the UK permanently. Last May, Yvette Cooper, who was Home Secretary at the time, proposed a 10-year qualifying period instead, known as "earned settlement," since many people were due to become eligible.
The Immigration White Paper said: "More people are likely to become eligible for settlement and then citizenship over the next few years as a result of the extremely high level of net migration between 2019 and 2024." Ms Mahmood followed with subsequent proposals to apply this retrospectively, rather than solely to new arrivals, which Ms Rayner described as "un-British" and a "breach of trust."
Reactions and Latest Figures
Britain's largest trade union Unison urged for care workers to be exempt. General secretary Andrea Egan said: "Shabana Mahmood's proposals have fuelled the far-Right." The Home Secretary has since hinted at relaxing her proposals, saying Labour would "come to a position that balances fairness."
Reform UK home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf said: "Labour's internal bickering means thousands more will get indefinite leave to remain and unfettered access to our welfare system, all because Andy Burnham cannot control Rayner or his backbenchers."
Latest official figures show that 199,628 people were granted settlement in the 12 months to June, beginning immediately after the White Paper's call for action, the Daily Mail reports. The Home Office said: "We are considering responses to our consultation on elements of these reforms."
