I, William Gomes, Director of The William Gomes Podcast, have joined more than 70 parliamentarians and civil society organisations in signing an open letter to the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, urging the Government to scrap any retrospective changes to settlement rules and Indefinite Leave to Remain.
Co-ordinated by the Work Rights Centre with Labour MP Neil Duncan-Jordan, the letter was delivered to the Home Office on Wednesday 11 February. It warns that proposals to double the qualifying period for Indefinite Leave to Remain to ten years, and to fifteen years for care workers, would undermine the Government’s stated priorities on economic growth, reducing child poverty and maintaining strong public services.
The signatories argue that fairness must remain central to UK immigration policy. Migrant workers who have worked, followed the requirements placed upon them and built their lives in the United Kingdom should not have the goalposts moved halfway through an agreed settlement process. Retrospective application of new immigration rules would remove security from families who planned their futures on the basis of existing law.
Concerns have also been raised about the absence of a published Impact Assessment. Without transparent analysis, neither ministers nor the public can properly assess how sweeping immigration reforms would affect the economy, public services and communities, including those with protected characteristics. The letter therefore calls for the consultation on settlement changes to be halted and restarted once a full Impact Assessment and a Child Rights Impact Assessment have been published, and for ministers to rule out retrospective application of settlement rules.
Members of Parliament who signed
Diane Abbott MP, Shockat Adam MP, Paula Barker MP, Lee Barron MP, Lorraine Beavers MP, Apsana Begum MP, Siân Berry MP, Olivia Blake MP, Richard Burgon MP, Ian Byrne MP, Dr Ellie Chowns MP, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Ann Davies MP, Carla Denyer MP, Sorcha Eastwood MP, Cat Eccles MP, Tom Gordon MP, Chris Hinchliff MP, Imran Hussain MP, Kim Johnson MP, Warinder Juss MP, Mary Kelly Foy MP, Afzal Khan MP, Ben Lake MP, Peter Lamb MP, Ian Lavery MP, Brian Leishman MP, Emma Lewell MP, Clive Lewis MP, Seamus Logan MP, Rebecca Long-Bailey MP, Rachael Maskell MP, John McDonnell MP, Llinos Medi MP, Navendu Mishra MP, Abtisam Mohamed MP, Iqbal Mohamed MP, Grahame Morris MP, Simon Opher MP, Kate Osamor MP, Kate Osborne MP, Richard Quigley MP, Adrian Ramsay MP, Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP, Liz Saville Roberts MP, Alex Sobel MP, Zarah Sultana MP, Jon Trickett MP, Tony Vaughan MP, Nadia Whittome MP, Pete Wishart MP, Steve Witherden MP, Kirsteen Sullivan MP
Peers who signed
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle, Baroness Blower, Lord Boateng CVO, Baroness Burt of Solihull, Lord Cashman, Earl of Clancarty, Lord Davies of Brixton, Lord Dholakia, Earl of Dundee, Baroness Hooper, Baroness Hussein-Ece OBE, Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb, Lord Kerr of Kinlochard, Baroness Lister of Burtersett CBE, Baroness Neuberger, Lord Oates, Lord Popat, Lord Singh of Wimbledon, Lord Teverson, Professor the Lord Trees FRCVS, FMedSci, HonFRSE, Baroness Uddin
Civil society signatories
Advice UK, African Rainbow Family, After Exploitation, Anti Trafficking and Labour Exploitation Unit (ATLEU), BARAC UK, Coram Children’s Centre, Employment Legal Advice Network (ELAN), Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX), Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit (GMAIU), Haringey Migrant Support Centre, Homecare Association, Immigration Law Practitioners Association (ILPA), Kalayaan, Latin American Women’s Rights Service (LAWRS), Lewisham Refugee and Migrant Network (LRMN), Long Residence Group, Maryhill Integration Network, Migrant Voice, Praxis, Refugee & Migrant Forum of Essex and London (RAMFEL), Refugee Employment Network, Regularise, Reunite Families UK, Roma Support Group, Skilled Workers Justice Alliance, Southeast and East Asian Women’s Association, Southall Black Sisters, the3million, The William Gomes Podcast, Tulia Group CIC, Young Roots, Women of Zimbabwe, Another Europe is Possible
