Starmer ‘operating scared’ of Labour Left and Angela Rayner as No10 refuses to say robust immigration plans will go forward

Keir Starmer was accused of running scared of mutinous Labour MPs today after No10 refused to say tough immigration plans will go ahead.

The PM sparked speculation that he could be on the verge of yet another U-turn in the wake of a bruising attack from Angela Rayner.

His former deputy – often tipped as a future leader – effectively put herself at the head of a revolt last night by branding the overhaul of settlement rules ‘un-British’.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood previously trumpeted the plans to double the time it takes for migrants to qualify for permanent residence from five to 10 years, insisting they are needed to counter mounting public disquiet. The reforms would apply to people who had arrived in the UK since 2021.

Downing Street would not commit to the measures definitely going ahead this afternoon when asked by reporters at a briefing. 

Hours later, a government spokesman issued a statement insisting the plans had not changed, but seemingly suggesting that the retrospective element could be watered down.

That would potentially mean large numbers of migrants who have arrived since 2021 might not be subject to the tighter restrictions.  

In a speech last night, Ms Rayner said the changes would be a ‘breach of trust’ for migrants who had come to Britain and tried to make a new life. 

‘That would be not just bad policy but a breach of trust. The people already in the system, who made a huge investment, now fear for their future, they do not have stability and do not know what will happen,’ she said.

‘We cannot talk about earning a settlement if we keep moving the goalposts, because moving the goalposts undermines our sense of fair play. It’s un-British,’ the MP for Ashton-under-Lyne said.

Sir Keir has been battling for survival amid dire polls and MPs’ fury over the Mandelson scandal. 

Despite theoretically having one of the biggest Commons majorities in history, he has already been forced into humiliating climbdowns, including ditching proposed curbs to benefits spending.

Challenged over Ms Rayner’s remarks this afternoon, No10 appeared to signal an openness to watering down Ms Mahmood’s plans.

The PM’s political spokesman would only say a consultation has closed and ministers would respond ‘in due course’.

The spokesman told reporters: ‘We’re a proud, tolerant, generous country.

‘Labour’s always been the party that celebrates the contribution migrant communities have made to our national story.

‘In the four years before the election we saw record levels of immigration. In the manifesto we promised to deliver a fair and properly managed immigration system.

‘We are considering responses to the Home Office consultation, and will respond in line with our principles and values.’

The spokesman defended Sir Keir after Ms Rayner said the party has come to represent ‘the establishment, not working people’ and called for a change of course.

She told the Mainstream event last night that Labour is ‘running out of time’ to deliver change and cannot ‘go through the motions in the face of decline’.

Sir Keir’s political spokesman said: ‘The Prime Minister shares an impatience to deliver the change people voted for. We’re making progress, restoring stability to the economy, cutting NHS waiting lists and, next month, we will begin lifting half a million children (out of poverty).

‘He’s firmly on the side of working people.’

Sir Keir and Ms Rayner maintain a good working relationship, the spokesman said, and ‘he would like to see her return to the Cabinet’.

However, he said he was not aware of the pair having spoken in the past week.

A Government spokesman tried to play down the apparent shift this afternoon, saying the ‘position has not changed’.

‘We will always welcome those that come to this country and contribute to our national life,’ the spokesman said.

‘But the privilege of living here forever should be earned, not automatic.

‘Between 2021 and 2024, this country experienced levels of migration it had historically seen over four decades.

‘We must be honest about the scale and impact of hundreds of thousands of low-skilled migrants getting settlement.

‘The Government will double the route to settlement from five to ten years.

‘As announced in November, we are consulting to apply this change to those in the UK today but have not received settled status.

‘We are currently reviewing the 200,000 responses and will outline our response in due course.’

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: ‘Although we would go further, these ILR changes are a step in the right direction. 

‘If Keir Starmer is too weak to get his backbenchers to vote for his own policy, he can rely on our votes to get this through parliament. 

‘We will always put the national interest first. If Keir Starmer and Shabana Mahmood water down these plans it will show they are too weak to protect our country’s borders – because they are scared of Angela Rayner and their own backbenchers.’ 

Ms Rayner’s intervention came amid mounting signs that Sir Keir’s rivals are positioning to strike.

Ms Rayner is reported to have been wooing the City in recent weeks, in an apparent bid to ease concerns she would rack up even more borrowing to splurge on the public sector.

She is also seen as building up a warchest with lucrative speeches and a rumoured £100,000 advance for a memoir.  

However, opponents have been trying to undermine her position, pointing out that she has yet to conclude negotiations with HMRC over the unpaid tax that sparked her resignation in September. 

Yesterday there was hostile briefing that Labour had paid her bill for legal advice on the furore, although No10 denied it was a pre-emptive strike at her ambitions. 

One senior Labour source told the Daily Mail that Ms Rayner’s remarks seemed timed to land as Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham – seen as another leadership contender – gives a big speech. 

‘I think it is blatant leadership stuff. Not hidden,’ the source said. ‘But in my view the question is still if she pulls the trigger, not when.

‘Does she really want it now, or in 2028 or 2029?’

One veteran MP said Ms Rayner’s prospects might be reduced as Sir Keir was benefiting from his open spat with Donald Trump over the Iran war. They said it was ‘no surprise’ she was ‘seeking publicity’ amid the crisis. 

But Labour backbencher Karl Turner warned Sir Keir ‘it isn’t just the ‘usual suspects’ that are thinking about successors’. 

‘It is a very large number of the PLP. We must do better. Much better. Keir promised to listen. Please do listen,’ he added.