Immigration retreat shows Burnham is less keen to fight his own MPs than Starmer

With Shabana Mahmood announcing a big watering down of her immigration reforms, Andy Burnham has shown that he does not want to go to war with his own MPs in the way that Sir Keir Starmer did. The Home Secretary scrapped her plans to make foreign care workers wait up to 15 years for settlement in the House of Commons on Monday afternoon. Lower-qualified workers who arrived on health and social care visas during the “Boriswave” from 2022 who meet their visa conditions and earn at least £25,000 a year will now only have to wait five years.

Those who do not qualify for the five-year settlement will be able to apply for a new five-year visa, and then apply for settlement once it has been completed. READ MORE: John Swinney says foreign trip critics 'have no understanding of selling Scotland to world' She also said small boat refugees will have to wait 20 years for settlement, rising to 30 years if they do not enter work on study. Ms Mahmood’s initial plans were controversial.

It was clear many Labour MPs - including Cabinet members Angela Rayner and Miatta Fahnbulleh - would not support the plans as they were. READ MORE: Women’s club members left feeling ‘intimidated and unsafe’ after abuse on weeknight run Doing nothing was also not a realistic option for the UK Government, as immigration is one of the most important issues for the public. This partial retreat - while maintaining the principles of the initial plans - suggests the Prime Minister is listening to his MPs, and is unwilling to make them pass policies which they completely oppose.

Difficulties will still lie ahead. The standard qualifying period will still double to 10 years, and those who earn more will be allowed to settle more quickly. The rules will also apply retrospectively to some migrants who currently live in Britain but have not yet been granted permanent settlement, meaning some people who expected to qualify after five years will have to wait longer. But the Government will now hope that it will gain the backing of the bulk of its backbenchers who are not natural rebels and agree something needs to be done on immigration.

Andy Burnham is less willing to fight with his own MPs than Sir Keir Starmer was. Time and time again Sir Keir tried to force Labour MPs to go against their own beliefs. First it was the Winter Fuel Payment, then benefit cuts and then immigration reforms. The inability to pass such measures made him look weak, but also meant that he had no goodwill from his MPs when his job was under pressure. Get our revamped Steamie newsletter The current PM has displayed a much better understanding of his colleagues than his predecessor.

By handing the Parliamentary Labour Party this olive branch, he has given himself a decent chance of passing Ms Mahmood’s reforms - something which would usually be very difficult to get left-of-centre politicians to support. He is also - coincidentally or not - out of the country at the moment, meaning he avoids being tarred by this contentious topic. Mr Burnham has a pragmatism and nous that Sir Keir lacked. Perhaps that is why he is so much more popular with the public and Labour MPs than his predecessor.