Shabana Mahmood Faces Pressure to Water Down Immigration Policy
Source reports published 21 Oct 2026, 10:00 am – 5:28 pm AEST
Shabana Mahmood’s plans to increase the period for foreign workers to gain permanent residency to 15 years are facing opposition from within the government. The Home Secretary is considering exempting care workers from the new rule, but several frontbenchers have expressed concerns about the impact on integration.
What happened
- Shabana Mahmood is facing pressure from within the Conservative government to revise her immigration policy.
- The plan involves increasing the qualifying period for foreign workers to 15 years to obtain indefinite leave to remain, applying retroactively to those arriving from 2021.
- Senior allies, including Prime Minister Andy Burnham, have stated their support for Mahmood’s position.
- However, Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner have publicly criticized the policy, arguing it could hinder integration and negatively impact the care sector.
- Mike Tapp, a former immigration minister, urged Mahmood to ‘read the room’ regarding public sentiment.
- Labour MPs, numbering around 100, also oppose the changes.
- A letter to Prime Minister Burnham expressed concerns about the fairness of targeting migrant workers who followed the rules and applying the changes retrospectively.
- The Home Office is currently considering over 200,000 responses to a consultation on the reforms.