Burnham Calls Migration a Moral Issue and Backs Faster Settlement for Those Making a Strong Contribution

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham regards migration as a moral issue, his political allies say. In their account, people who have lost faith in politics need to be shown that the government has control over the United Kingdom's borders and is prepared to act.

At the same time, Burnham also wants to tell a positive story about the contribution of migration to the country, the allies say. Weeks after arriving in No 10, it was revealed that social care workers could be exempted from the plans as he looked for ways to relieve pressure on the sector.

While out on the campaign trail in Makerfield, Burnham gave a glimpse into where he might land on Labour's plans for immigration reform, which had been described by the left of the party as unfair and by the right as electorally necessary.

Asked about Reform's attack on 'open borders Andy' — Nigel Farage's early attempt to define him as soft on migration — Burnham, then Manchester mayor, dismissed the charge as ridiculous. He said that in the Home Office under Tony Blair, his specific job was to return people.

Burnham said he used to have to travel to governments around the world and persuade them to take back planes of people who had come with no basis to stay, and that he had never been shy of getting to grips with these difficult issues.

Burnham was supportive of attempts by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to limit legal and illegal migration, which had been criticised by some senior Labour figures as unBritish, but he wanted to reframe the changes. He said there was a different way of thinking about it that might restore public confidence.

In an interview with ITV this week, Burnham again made the case that with planned migration it is difficult to say if it is too high or too low, arguing that migrants help plug gaps in the economy.

Mahmood's reforms came with a significant carve-out for almost 300,000 care workers, to allow them to apply for indefinite leave to remain after five years.

In a further compromise, those deemed to be making a strong contribution to the UK — high earners, those with strong British connections or who work in health and teaching — will also be able to settle in five years.

The most rigorous of the new rules first drawn up a year ago by the Home Office — retrospective changes for many migrants, or forcing small boat arrivals to face up to 30 years before applying for settlement — are still there. Polling suggests the public supports doubling the waiting time for most migrants to 10 years.

The Conservatives and Reform are pushing the narrative of capitulation on borders, with Farage describing the care workers carve-out as the beginning of the capitulation. Burnham is arguing it is about fairness, saying it is only fair that those making the most valuable contribution to communities are given the opportunity to settle earlier, while those in other roles should expect to wait longer and people who abuse the system or arrive illegally will be refused or wait longer.

Burnham's words were not delivered in the Commons or at a press conference, but issued in a press release after the government chose to push ahead with the sensitive announcement while he was out of the country travelling to the Commonwealth leaders summit in Antigua. The plans are still likely to face criticism from either wing of the Labour Party, although without an obvious vote to coalesce around, any rebellion looks unlikely. Mahmood's bigger challenge will be convincing the public, and she will need Burnham's help to do so.