Open Letter to the Home Office

Last night I delivered an Open Letter to the Home Office opposing unfair changes to Indefinite Leave to Remain. It was signed by UNISON General Secretary Andrea Egan, over 50 MPs, 21 Peers and 33 civil society organisations.

A Labour Government has lost its way when it is making policy designed to chase Nigel Farage’s tail instead of doing what’s best for the country.

I worked with migrant care workers for years as a trade unionist. They are decent, hardworking people doing a challenging job in difficult conditions, often for low pay. We shouldn’t be going after those people. It pushes a struggling sector closer to crisis and it’s just not fair. As I told Keir Starmer last year - it’s un-British.

The British public believe in fair play: if you do your bit and work hard, the rug shouldn’t be pulled out from under you. These sweeping changes should be paused until we’ve had a proper assessment of the damage they’ll do to public services - and to people’s lives.

And whatever outcome the Government reaches, it must not apply these changes to people already here. We cannot punish those who built lives and families around promises our Government made.

When you break trust with workers who care for our elderly and vulnerable, you don’t just divide communities - you weaken our economy and the public services we all depend on.

You can read the full letter below: