Home Office could bow down to left-wing Labour MPs over immigration reforms ahead of Andy Burnham coronation

The Home Office is set to bow down to leftie Labour MPs over immigration reforms ahead of Andy Burnham's coronation.

Shabana Mahmood's department could grant 1.6 million migrants indefinite leave to remain (ILR) after five years, as opposed to 10 to appease potential rebel backbench Labour MPs.

A group of left-wing Labour MPs had previously urged Andy Burnham to change course on Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s immigration and asylum policies.

As part of the compromise, foreign workers and their families who arrived in the UK since 2021, a group sometimes nicknamed the "Boriswave" would face waiting longer to qualify for benefits.

The proposals are one of several drawn up by officials as part of efforts to soften the impact on migrants who are already in the UK from changes to the ILR system.

Those who are eligible for ILR can also access welfare including housing support, universal credit, disability payments, council tax reduction, tax credits and state pension credits.

A source told The Times: "What it boils down to is benefits. You would allow them to get ILR after five years but you don’t allow them to claim benefits until three or four years later."

While the source admitted "most people don’t come here so they can claim benefits", but added the idea that they can do so "as soon as they get ILR" was "politically damaging" to Labour.

A Home Office spokesman said: "Settlement in the UK is a privilege, not a right. That is why we are reforming settlement rules, based on contribution to the UK and ensuring those staying here respect our laws and contribute to the country."

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RECAP: Britons 'could die in 12-hour queues at border' thanks to new EU system

British tourists could die in 12-hour long queues in Kent this summer unless the EU halts its contentious new border system, an MP has warned.

Herne Bay and Sandwich MP Sir Roger Gale said traffic gridlock thanks to the Entry/Exit System (EES) could stop emergency services reaching people in distress.

"If you have elderly people, children and dogs in 12-hour queues with no lavatory facilities, inadequate water supplies, somebody will die, somebody will have a heart attack," he said.

"I'm not overegging it. This is the stark reality," Sir Roger told The Times.

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