reform on Monday, backing a plan that would force some migrants to wait 15 years — triple the current five — before they can settle permanently in the United Kingdom.
Andy Burnham said he stood by the principles of the reform set out by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, after days of speculation that a political backlash inside the Labour Party could force the government to water it down.
"The home secretary is right, in my view, to bring forward changes that are based on the principle that settlement is a right to be earned, not just something that is granted automatically," Andy Burnham told ITV's Good Morning Britain on Monday. "And she'll set out the final conclusion soon."
A 15-year wait for permanent settlement
Under Shabana Mahmood's plan, the time it takes to secure indefinite leave to remain — the status that lets a migrant live and work in Britain without time limits — would rise from five years to 15 years for some categories of migrants.
The proposal is the toughest settlement rule any British government has put forward in decades, and it lands in the middle of a fierce debate over immigration that has dominated Andy Burnham's first months in office. Andy Burnham took over as prime minister in July, and his government has been under constant pressure from Nigel Farage's Reform UK, which leads many polls on the question of who voters trust on immigration.
The free movement row that came first
The endorsement came a day after Andy Burnham opened a second front in the migration debate, telling the Sunday Times that Britain should have an "honest discussion" about restoring the European Union's free movement rules as part of a closer future relationship with the bloc.
Andy Burnham, who has even raised the possibility of Britain applying to rejoin the EU one day, said immigration into Britain had been "different" since the country left the EU in early 2020. "Revolving door migration where people would come and then go back is different," he said. "The balance of migration has changed, hasn't it, since then? I think we've just got to have an honest discussion about those things."
Nigel Farage, the leader of the anti-immigrant Reform UK party, called Andy Burnham's comments on free movement a "total betrayal of Brexit Britain".
Andy Burnham has committed to the manifesto of his predecessor Keir Starmer, which ruled out the return of free movement, single market membership or a customs union. That means any major change in Britain's relationship with the EU would likely need a fresh mandate at the next general election, which is not expected until 2029. He also told the Sunday Times he "can't see myself ever recommending anything that would involve joining" the euro or the Schengen borderless area.
A summit, a backlash and a decision to come
Andy Burnham and EU leaders are hopeful of striking deals on food and drink, youth mobility and emissions trading when they meet at a UK-EU summit in Brussels on November 20.
For now, the immediate question is whether Shabana Mahmood's settlement plan survives intact. Andy Burnham's public backing on Monday was designed to end speculation that the government was about to retreat — but the home secretary has yet to publish her final conclusions, and the details of who exactly would face the 15-year wait remain to be set out.
Sources: Reuters, 26 Oct 2026 (Sam Tabahriti, London; edited by Kate Holton); Times Now World, 26 Oct 2026; ITV Good Morning Britain, 26 Oct 2026.