Labour Unveils Tougher Migration Rules, Pledges “Fair but Firm” Approach
Labour is set to tighten immigration rules in a major shake-up unveiled today at the Labour Party Conference, with Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood promising a “fair but firm” system aimed at strengthening integration and restoring public confidence.
Delivering her first keynote speech as Home Secretary, Ms Mahmood outlined a sweeping overhaul of the route to indefinite leave to remain, the key pathway to British citizenship.
Under the proposals, migrants seeking permanent residency will be required to demonstrate a higher standard of English, maintain a clean criminal record, pay National Insurance, and actively contribute to their local communities through volunteering.
A formal consultation on these changes will be launched later this year.
“These plans,” Ms Mahmood is expected to tell delegates, “are about secure borders, fair migration and safe streets – all essential to an open, generous, tolerant country. But you won’t always like what I do.”
NEW: LABOUR STEAL REFORM IMMIGRATION POLICY
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will announce tougher rules for migrants applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain:
Must be employed and paying NI
No benefits
Strong English proficiency
Clean criminal record
Volunteering… pic.twitter.com/jxP3DYcwKA— British Intel (@TheBritishIntel) September 28, 2025
The Labour frontbencher will also issue a warning about the rising tide of hardline nationalism, voicing concern that “patriotism, a force for good, is turning into something smaller, something more like ethno-nationalism.”
Labour insists its stance draws a clear contrast with rival parties. Keir Starmer has condemned Reform UK leader Nigel Farage’s call to scrap settled status for non-EU migrants, branding the proposal “racist and immoral”.
Ms Mahmood will stress that Labour’s approach balances compassion with responsibility, saying her own parents’ journey to Britain shaped her belief that acceptance depends on contribution as well as opportunity.
The proposals have already sparked debate among migration advocates. Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, told The Guardian:
“We know that refugees want to feel part of, and give back to, the country that has provided them with safety.
It is much harder for a refugee to find their feet straight away without relying on benefits at all, especially if they have been given less than 30 days to find somewhere to live.
Almost all people seeking asylum are not allowed to work and are forced to rely on state support.
By punishing refugees for needing help, we are saying to them that no matter how hard you work in the future, you’ll never have a safe, permanent home in Britain. This is the opposite of encouraging integration.”
The advertisement comes as Labour seeks to reassure voters on border security while defying the populist rhetoric dominating the corridor of the migration debate.
The party hopes the new rules will be seen as realistic, guarding Britain’s traditions of openness while encouraging beginners to make a measurable donation to society.
Whether these changes will satisfy both reform-inclined choosers and those upset about fairness remains to be seen.
But in a conference hall buzzing with expectation, Shabana Mahmood made it clear the Labour Party Conference isn’t flinching down from one of Britain’s most charged political battlefields.
