Tories claim Labour’s Rayner now steering UK migration policy as Mahmood backs down

Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp warned that Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is prepared to surrender to the left-wing of Labour, headed by Housing Secretary Angela Rayner, who has called the immigration reforms “un-British.” In a Labour conference address, Mahmood signaled she would aim for a balanced position, implying a possible rollback of a proposal that would raise the waiting period for indefinite leave to remain from five to as many as fifteen years.

Rayner’s criticism and the Tories’ claim that she now dictates migration policy arise as Labour readies its own net-negative migration plan, including deportations of low-wage migrants earning under £30,000. Prime Minister Andy Burnham rejected suggestions that Rayner’s opposition would block the reforms, insisting the changes must strike the right balance. The debate unfolds amid Labour’s broader pledge to cut net migration and reduce small-boat arrivals.