A cabinet split over Shabana Mahmood’s immigration policy has deepened after Miatta Fahnbulleh, the energy secretary, declined to explicitly support plans that would require foreign workers to wait 15 years to claim permanent residency in the UK.

Context

In an interview with Sky News, Fahnbulleh stated that changes to the immigration system were necessary and should be "based on the principle of compassion" and recognizing contributions. However, she refrained from endorsing Mahmood’s proposal to extend the waiting period from five to 15 years for foreign workers seeking permanent residency.

This development follows a recent incident where Fahnbulleh appeared to criticize the plans on her Peckham constituency website, although the post was later removed. In her original statement, she remarked:

“

"If we continually prolong the time people have to wait for settlement, we can also prolong the process of building cohesion."

Developments

Mahmood has suggested that her plan might be revised to prevent a rebellion within the Labour party, especially after pushback from senior MPs. Earlier this year, Angela Rayner, the housing secretary, publicly criticized the plans, and numerous Labour MPs have voiced their opposition to the proposed changes, which would be retroactive to 2021.