Labour figures clash over growth and migrant settlement rules

Labour figures have publicly disagreed over economic growth and proposed changes to migrant settlement rules as the party prepares for its conference in Liverpool, leaving questions about the government’s priorities and the final status of the proposals unresolved. Angela Rayner, the communities secretary, said she still opposed Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s plan to extend the route to permanent settlement for foreign social care workers from five years to 15. The reported proposal would apply to people who came to the UK from 2021 onward. Rayner said the change would move the goalposts for workers who had been invited to care for vulnerable people and had built their lives in the country. She had previously described the plans as unBritish and said she had not changed her view. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said she did not consider the planned migration-law changes unBritish. She said the Home Secretary was seeking to balance recognition of migrants’ contributions with the need for public confidence in the immigration system.