Under-pressure PM Sir Keir Starmer is facing more uproar on the Labour backbenches (Image: Getty)
Sir Keir Starmer is facing the prospect of another backbench revolt as Labour MPs urge the Government to abandon tougher plans on migration. Thirty-five Labour MPs, the head of the major Unison trade union and dozens of civil society organisations have reportedly written to the Home Secretary over her “deeply unfair” crackdown.
They are urging Shabana Mahmood to reconsider her plans to make migrants wait longer before gaining indefinite leave to remain (ILR), according to reports. Ms Mahmood, who is said to be totally committed to the changes, wants to double the time it takes for most migrants to qualify for ILR. ILR gives a person the right to live, work and study in the UK for as long as they like, as well as apply for benefits if eligible.
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Thirty-five Labour MPs have written to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood (Image: Getty)
According to The Telegraph, the letter from the MPs calls on Ms Mahmood to scrap plans to make her reforms retrospective.
It says: “The Government must uphold its promises – we cannot simply change the rules halfway through an agreed process.
“The Government must immediately rule out applying new immigration rules to migrant families already in the UK. Thousands of families have planned their lives around current rules.”
One Labour source told the newspaper that those arguing against the changes risked “ignoring the voters at their peril”.
The Government is planning to extend the period needed for people to get settled status after they arrive in the UK, meaning it will be granted only after 10 years and if a specific set of circumstances have been met.
A health minister earlier this month said it is not known how many NHS staff would be affected by the changes amid a consultation on the reforms.
Doctors and nurses working in the NHS have exemptions from the proposed new rules.
However, staff working in social care and private healthcare — which has had NHS cases contracted out to it to cut down backlogs — will be affected.
The policy was announced last year as Labour sought to toughen its credentials on immigration and cut the number of people arriving in the UK.
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Labour MPs have previously strongly criticised the reforms.
In a recent Westminster Hall debate, Labour backbenchers slammed the crackdown as “shameful” and “un-British”.
