The revised immigration policy allows care workers who arrived before May 2025 and earn a minimum of £25,000 annually to settle in five years instead of fifteen. Although the adjustments ease rules for social care staff, the framework retains contentious retrospective changes affecting hundreds of thousands of people. Labour MPs across the party largely tempered their opposition during the parliamentary statement, though Rachael Maskell mounted vocal pushback against the retrospective aspects. Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp condemned the shift as a significant reversal, referencing previous government estimates of a £10bn cost.
Key points
The government retained retrospective settlement elements despite previous internal pushb…: The government retained retrospective settlement elements despite previous internal pushback from figures such as Angela Rayner.
Most Labour parliamentarians, including prominent left-wing figures John McDonnell and Di…: Most Labour parliamentarians, including prominent left-wing figures John McDonnell and Diane Abbott, muted their public criticism of the policy.
Shabana Mahmood declined to confirm whether Prime Minister Andy Burnham ordered the revis…: Shabana Mahmood declined to confirm whether Prime Minister Andy Burnham ordered the revisions or specify the updated policy's total financial cost.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
- Published
Today's announcement has long been viewed in government as a potential political banana skin.
When the home secretary announced her first version of changes to the settlement system last year, many Labour MPs, including the housing secretary Angela Rayner, voiced their concerns about the plans.
But there was a feeling that Sir Keir Starmer's government was determined to plough on regardless. Shabana Mahmood herself repeatedly expressed how important she believed the reforms were.
But the change of prime minister over the summer gave renewed hope to those unhappy Labour MPs that they could force the Home Office into two changes.
Firstly, social care workers – under the original plans many social care workers would have had to wait 15 years before becoming eligible for settlement.
Secondly, the retrospective nature of the plans – some MPs were uncomfortable at the idea of someone coming to the UK and expecting to be eligible for settlement after five years, but then having to wait longer.
Angela Rayner described that as "un-British" and said the government shouldn't be shifting "the goalposts".
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