Shabana Mahmood was last night accused of kowtowing to the Labour Left-wing after failing to bring forward ‘urgent’ immigration reforms.
The Home Secretary promised tough new measures aimed at tightening immigration laws almost a year ago.
Critics warned that every day she delays in making them a reality, another 1,100 people are granted the right to remain in Britain – opening up access to benefits and housing.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said Ms Mahmood had ‘chickened out’, adding: ‘She talked a tough game on ILR [indefinite leave to remain] reform but has delivered nothing.’
The crackdown launched to much fanfare by Ms Mahmood last November included doubling the base qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain from five years to ten years.
It would also see those who commit crimes, pay less tax or claim benefits, punished by having to wait even longer for settled status.
The heaviest penalty was to be reserved for illegal migrants, who would be forced to wait 30 years to secure permanent leave to stay in Britain.
And the new rules would apply retrospectively to the two million migrants who have come here since 2021.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood was last night accused of kowtowing to the Labour Left-wing after failing to bring forward ‘urgent’ immigration reforms
Critics warned every day Ms Mahmood delays in curbing migrant rights, another 1,100 people are granted the right to remain. Pictured: A small boat crossing the Channel this year
The measures were absent from the Home Office’s updated immigration rules published last week, meaning there has been no progress in the ten months since they were set out in detail by the Home Secretary.
Ms Mahmood insisted at the time that the measures were essential to head off the immense cost to the Treasury when migrants become eligible for ILR – those with refugee status can cost the taxpayer hundreds of thousands of pounds in their lifetime.
Mr Philp said Ms Mahmood had ‘chickened out’ because she was ‘terrified of her own Left-wing Labour backbenchers who want to see open borders and citizenship for anyone who turns up on our shores’.
He added: ‘She talks tough then does nothing. This is now urgent – every working day over 1,000 migrants are getting the permanent right to stay here with full access to benefits.
‘Many entered the country illegally or have never worked. We cannot wait a day longer.
‘Shabana Mahmood must deliver her promises in full and act now.’
Ms Mahmood herself warned that failure to confront concern over immigration levels could lead to ‘a littler England, as anger turns to hate’.
The Home Secretary’s consultation paper said ILR claims were set to rocket from early next year when two million migrants will be able to claim a wider range of handouts if their applications are successful.
The paper said: ‘Migrants on lower wages who bring non-working dependants and children are likely to present significant fiscal costs to the UK.
‘It is therefore right that we apply more stringent controls for this group before they qualify for settled status.
‘Under our current rules, they will usually qualify for benefits payments and council housing five years after arrival.
‘As the majority of this group began arriving from 2022 onwards, this is currently set to begin in 2027.’
But Ms Mahmood’s planned shake-up immediately triggered infighting within the Labour ranks, as MPs from the Left of the party complained it was unfair to change the rules for migrants already in the UK.
In February, 35 Labour MPs signed an open letter opposing the proposals.
And in June, Andy Burnham’s Housing and Communities Secretary Angela Rayner, who was then a backbencher, described Ms Mahmood’s scheme as ‘un-British’ and ‘wrong’.
When the ILR reforms were absent from Labour’s latest immigration Bill, published in June, the department said they would be implemented through secondary legislation.
The measures were expected to be included in the regular autumn update of Home Office immigration rules.
However, they were absent from the edition of immigration rules published last week.
The Home Office declined to comment on whether the measures would be included in a future edition, saying only: ‘Last November, we set out reforms to double the standard qualifying period to ten years for most migrants, with shorter routes for those who contribute most to the UK.
‘A consultation on elements of those reforms has now closed, and we will set out our response in due course.’
In the year to June there were 199,628 successful applications for ILR, a 24 per cent jump on the previous 12 months.
It was equivalent to 547 a day, or one every two minutes.
The number of successful claims has already shown a stark increase in recent months, with 73,775 granted in the three months to the end of June, up 38 per cent on the previous quarter.
It was equivalent to more than 1,100 each working day during the quarter.
The surge reflects the ongoing impact of record immigration in the wake of the pandemic.
Arrivals peaked at 1.47million in 2023, the same year net migration – the number arriving minus those emigrating – hit a record 944,000.
Most migrants can currently qualify for ILR after spending five years legally in the UK, allowing them to access the full range of welfare benefits and, ultimately, to become British citizens.
Under Ms Mahmood’s proposals, migrants who contribute to society would be rewarded with shorter waiting times for ILR.
Foreign workers in senior public sector roles – such as doctors and nurses – would face a five-year qualification period.
It would also reward highly skilled, high-earning foreign workers, with waiting periods reduced by seven years for those paying the 45 per cent income tax rate and five years for those in the 40 per cent band.
ILR applications are set to peak at between 359,000 and 620,000 in 2028, the Home Office estimates.
Low-paid foreign care workers have a net lifetime cost to the taxpayer of minus £36,000, according to government experts at the Migration Advisory Committee.
By comparison, skilled workers pay far more in tax than they consume in public services, with a net average lifetime contribution of £689,000.
