Immigration: Earned Settlement

Chi Onwurah Excerpts

Monday 2nd November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Shabana Mahmood]

I absolutely disagree. I simply repeat the point that I have made to many hon. Members on the Lib Dem Benches: a Government need to be able to change the immigration system rules to reflect emerging circumstances. If they had their way, the immigration system would be in absolute chaos. The resolution that we have found between the different cohorts, including those who will now be eligible for a transitional arrangement, represents a fair solution for everyone.

[Dame Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West) (Lab)]

I commend my right hon. Friend for consulting so widely in developing the earned settlement proposals and for listening to the representations of care workers in particular. I must express my astonishment at the refusal of Conservative Members to accept moral, social, financial or political responsibility for their failed immigration policies.

These proposals will nevertheless adversely affect many. May I raise in particular early career researchers—postdocs and so on—who will not be earning £50,000 a year but will be contributing to our scientific understanding? Will my right hon. Friend meet me to discuss the impact on our science base?

[Shabana Mahmood]

I am always happy to meet my hon. Friend and will happily discuss those issues with her, but with the proposals that the Government have set out—including the transitional arrangements for those cohorts in health and education, given our reliance on foreign labour in those two sectors and the Migration Advisory Committee’s specific treatment of them—I think that we have found a fair resolution for everyone.