Indefinite leave to remain reforms set to be watered down, Mahmood signals

Shabana Mahmood has signalled she is going to water down her hardline migrant settlement reforms following growing Labour and trade union pressure. The Home Secretary was accused of “dehumanising” migrants and fuelling the far-right by the boss of the Unison union in an interview with The i Paper on Sunday. Angela Rayner also broke ranks to criticise Mahmood’s reforms on the eve of Labour conference in Liverpool, warning they would unfairly “move the goalposts” for foreign workers already in the UK. Shorts The Housing Secretary’s remarks further fuelled a growing Labour revolt over Mahmood’s plans to double the default wait for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) from five to 10 years for immigrant workers. Labour MPs are particularly concerned about a proposal to apply the changes to migrants who are already living in the UK and previously believed they were on a five-year path to settlement, which Rayner has described as “un-British”. In her Labour conference speech on Monday, Mahmood signalled she is likely to water down this aspect of the reforms. She said her proposals are designed to ensure “settled status is earned, by those who have shown a consistent commitment to this country”. Mahmood went on: “I know that, throughout our consultation process, some have said elements of these reforms are not fair. “To that: let me say this. We will come to a position that balances fairness for those who came here legally, and fairness to British citizens across this country.” Mahmood has been facing pressure to exempt migrant care workers from the changes because of the contribution they make to Britain, and to avoid worsening staff shortages in the industry. Earlier, Prime Minister Andy Burnham rejected suggestions he would need to choose between “team Mahmood” and “team Rayner” on the row. He told LBC: “I’m both of them. I’m Team Angela and Shabana. “But it just reflects that there’s a consultation and there’s different not just opinions from politicians, but obviously there’s a range of views that have gone into that consultation. We’re in the process now of looking at that.” However, he disagreed with Rayner’s description of the reforms as “un-British”. “I wouldn’t put it that way,” he said. “I think what we’ve got to do is strike the right balance and that’s what the end result of the consultation will be”.