Angela Rayner said in the UK that she still opposes Home Office plans to make many foreign care workers wait 15 years before applying for permanent residence. The proposal, announced last year by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, would apply to low-paid migrants in below-graduate-level jobs; about 180,000 foreign care workers arrived between 2022 and 2024, and without a law change many would qualify for settlement in 2027. Prime Minister Andy Burnham is reportedly considering exemptions for workers already in the country, and Mahmood said a government decision is imminent after a consultation.
Why it matters: The dispute affects migrants who moved to Britain to fill care-sector shortages and are now uncertain whether the route to settlement they expected will change. It also matters politically because Labour is balancing pressure to cut net migration against employers' labor needs and objections from MPs and unions.
Fraser Myers
2026.09.29
79% relevant
The article says Mahmood pledged to water down her earlier migration reforms, specifically those that would have extended the wait for indefinite leave to remain, including the proposed 15-year path for care workers. That is the same policy dispute covered in the tracked story.
Andrew Sparrow
2026.09.28
95% relevant
This live blog adds that Shabana Mahmood signalled she is considering watering down the proposal to make permanent residence harder for foreign workers, amid pressure from cabinet colleagues and unions, directly advancing the same dispute over the planned longer settlement wait.
Rajeev Syal Home affairs editor
2026.09.28
93% relevant
This article advances the same underlying policy fight by reporting that Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood publicly hinted at watering down the proposed change from a five-year to 15-year path to settlement for care workers, after criticism from Angela Rayner, unions and other Labour figures.
Geraldine McKelvie
2026.09.26
100% relevant
This article establishes a distinct UK story about internal Labour conflict over a specific legal-migration policy: whether foreign care workers already recruited to Britain will face a much longer wait for permanent settlement.
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