Shabana Mahmood caves to Labour rebels as nearly 300,000 foreign care workers can settle after five years, not 15
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Britain relies on overseas workers to fill labour shortages in sectors such as social care, but declined to say whether 171,000 legal arrivals a year was too many.OBR and ONS data on net migration forecasts showed projected arrivals revised between March and October 2026, as Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood was expected to water down tougher leave-to-remain rules.Former SNP first minister Nicola Sturgeon also criticised Chancellor John Healey's Budget interview as "weirdly hesitant", saying he appeared to "speak without saying anything.Opinium polling data, conducted largely after John Healey's Budget, showing Labour eight points ahead of Reform — with Labour MPs already putting staff on standby ahead of a possible May election.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp attacked the climbdown as a £10 billion burden on taxpayers, warning that Mahmood had "capitulated" to the open-borders left. Labour cabinet ministers Angela Rayner and Miatta Fahnbulleh had both publicly undermined the original plans — Fahnbulleh declining to defend them seven times during a Sky News interview.
Farage called it 'the beginning of the capitulation', while Mahmood insisted settlement must now be 'earned, not automatic'.
Workers on salaries below £50,000 will still face a doubled wait of 10 years, whereas top earners above £125,141 become eligible to settle in as little as three years.
Refugees who crossed the Channel by small boat face a 20-year wait, rising to 30 if they fail to enter work or study.
