Shabana Mahmood U-turns on immigration crackdown and spares up to 300,000 foreign care workers after Left-wing Labour revolt
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.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has exempted up to 300,000 foreign care workers already living in the UK from her proposed 15-year settlement wait, caving after cabinet colleagues including Angela Rayner branded the original plans "un-British." The climbdown was announced in a Commons statement Monday, with the wait for most other migrants to be doubled to ten years.
Rayner publicly attacked the plans as "un-British" and Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh refused to back them seven times on Sky News.
Small boat migrants will reportedly remain eligible for indefinite leave to remain under the watered-down reforms.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp accused Mahmood of surrendering to Rayner and the 'open-borders' wing of her party.
