Shabana Mahmood ‘to dilute immigration plans’ after Labour backlash

Home secretary Shabana Mahmood is reportedly preparing to dilute proposals to overhaul legal migration rules following pushback across the Labour Party and the cabinet.

Ms Mahmood is expected to announce her final decisions to Parliament next week, with ministers poised to scale back plans that would have forced tens of thousands of social care staff already working in the UK to wait up to 15 years for permanent settlement, the BBC reports.

Under the Home Office’s original blueprints, the baseline qualification period for indefinite leave to remain was set to double from five years to 10, with lower-paid foreign workers facing a wait of up to 15 years before securing permanent residency.

But now, following a public consultation that generated more than 200,000 responses, the government is expected to exempt existing social care workers from the lengthened timetable.

Most other foreign workers are still expected to face an extended 10-year residency requirement before becoming eligible to settle, though the duration could be reduced for individuals who earn higher incomes or demonstrate sustained contributions to their local communities.

Ms Mahmood had pressed for the stricter regime amid growing alarm in Whitehall over the number of legal arrivals approaching eligibility for settlement, following record net migration figures under the previous Conservative administration.

Amid anti-migrant protests and political pressure mounting from the Conservatives and Reform UK, ministers have faced growing demands to curb long-term population growth and reduce pressure on public services.

But the prospect of applying the restrictions retrospectively – moving the goalposts for overseas staff who arrived in Britain on the understanding they could settle after five years – has triggered internal conflict within the government.

Before rejoining the cabinet as housing secretary, Angela Rayner delivered a pointed critique of the draft policy, branding retrospective changes "un-British" for penalising migrants who had moved to the UK in good faith.

The Tories framed the reported retreat as a major climbdown.

A Conservative Party spokesperson claimed the home secretary had “caved in to pressure from Angela Rayner and her open borders MPs and will shred her own plans to reform indefinite leave to remain.”

The spokesperson added: “This is a slap in the face to British taxpayers who will have to subsidise low-skilled, low-wage migrants.”

Permanent residence – formally designated as indefinite leave to remain – grants foreign nationals the right to live, work, and study in the UK indefinitely, while opening access to public funds and state benefits.