Former Labour home secretary backs Mahmood's migration crackdown
Alan Johnson, who served as home secretary from 2009 to 2010, has advised Shabana Mahmood to ignore Labour backbenchers' concerns about illegal immigration and press ahead with policies designed to make it harder for migrants to settle permanently in the UK. Speaking in an interview with the Policy Exchange think-tank, Johnson said the Home Secretary should "press ahead" with her reforms, warning that "the more she listens to her backbenchers, the worse it'll be."
Johnson's remarks come amid a backlash within the Parliamentary Labour Party to Mahmood's proposals. The i Paper reported last month that nearly 80 Labour MPs had signed a private letter to Andy Burnham urging him to "pause" the reforms, and The Sun has reported that around 90 Labour MPs are pushing the Government to soften its migration crackdown.
What Mahmood's reforms would change
The Home Secretary is seeking to implement a range of measures aimed at tightening the immigration system. These include extending the waiting period for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) from five years to at least ten years for most immigrants, with the change applied retrospectively to those already in the UK. For refugees, the wait could be as long as 20 years.
Mahmood also wants to follow Denmark's approach in making refugee status temporary, with asylum seekers' cases reviewed every 30 months and individuals returned to their country of origin if it is deemed safe for them. The Immigration and Asylum Bill, currently moving through Parliament, would also change how human rights and modern slavery laws apply to asylum applications, in an effort to combat what the Home Office describes as "vexatious" claims.
The measures are designed to reduce the "pull" factors that encourage people to cross the Channel in small boats, a central priority for the Government.
Johnson's advice: stay the course
In his interview with Policy Exchange, which is part of a series with 14 former home secretaries, Johnson urged Mahmood to remain steadfast. "Don't listen too much to your Labour colleagues – press ahead," he said. "When you're doing something that really needs to be done, particularly on illegal immigration, you always get a kickback, and she's got to carry on."
Johnson acknowledged that "there are always things which could be amended" as the bill progresses through Parliament, but insisted that "the basic point is that you've got to stop this pull factor." He also defended Mahmood's move to make refugee status temporary, arguing that "there's a case for reviewing whether granting someone asylum from a country five years ago is still relevant now." He acknowledged concerns about families settling down, but said "there could be some amendments as it goes through," adding that "she's right to take the Danish route."
Warning about political consequences
Johnson indicated that failure to address the small boats crisis could have significant political consequences. "Illegal immigration is, of course, a tiny proportion of overall immigration," he said. "But pictures of people coming illegally into this country, people feel really, really strongly about it, and it's no good suddenly thinking that, 'We've done this to death; let's move on'. We need to have the right policies to address it, or someone else will."
He suggested this was part of Mahmood's own argument for reform. "This is Shabana's main argument: 'If we don't do it, there's a very, very different approach from a very different party, and they'll end up in Government'," Johnson said.
The Sun has also reported that Mahmood is now looking again at plans to deport illegal migrants to a third country for their asylum claims to be processed, a policy that was previously blocked when Labour opposed the Conservatives' Rwanda scheme. Sir Keir Starmer scrapped that scheme on taking office.