Andy Burnham has waded into the debate over Labour's immigration reforms while campaigning in Makerfield, framing Shabana Mahmood's settlement plans as a matter of fairness rather than softness on uk border control. The Greater Manchester politician rejected attacks that cast him as soft on migration and argued that contribution, not a single waiting time, should decide who settles in Britain and how quickly.

Rebutting the 'open borders' label

The reforms had already split Labour before Burnham spoke, having been decried by the party's left as unfair while described on the right as electorally necessary. Nigel Farage moved early to define Burnham as soft on the issue with the attack label "open borders Andy".

Burnham dismissed the charge as "ridiculous", and pointed to his own record to make the case:

• •He said he worked in the Home Office under Tony Blair, where, in his words, "it was my job to return people".
• •He recalled travelling to governments around the world to persuade them to take back planes of people with no basis to stay in the UK.

A fairness-based case for the reforms

Burnham argued there is a different way of thinking about migration that could restore public confidence. In an ITV interview this week, he said that when a country has planned migration, it is difficult to say if the numbers are too high or too low, arguing that migrants help plug "gaps in the economy".

His core argument was that contribution should determine how quickly someone can settle:

At the same time, he said people in other roles should expect to wait longer, while those who abuse the system or arrive illegally will be refused or face a longer wait.

What Mahmood's plans contain

The Home Secretary's attempts to limit legal and illegal migration had already been criticised by some senior Labour figures as un-British. The package she brought forward includes:

• •A carve-out allowing almost 300,000 care workers to apply for indefinite leave to remain after five years.
• •A five-year settlement route for those deemed to make a "strong contribution" to the UK - high earners, people with strong British connections, and health and teaching workers.
• •Retrospective changes and a rule forcing small boats arrivals to wait up to 30 years before applying for settlement, which remain in place from rules the Home Office first drew up a year ago.
• •A doubling of the waiting time for most migrants to 10 years, which polling suggests the public supports.

Farage described the care workers carve-out as "the beginning of the capitulation" on borders.

Where the plans stand

Burnham's intervention came by press release, because the government announced the sensitive policy while he was abroad at the Commonwealth leaders summit in Antigua. The plans may still draw criticism from both wings of Labour, but without an obvious vote to coalesce around, any major rebellion looks unlikely. Burnham has praised Mahmood for "gripping this problem", and she will need his help to convince the public.