Neil Duncan-Jordan MP, the Labour MP for Poole, working with the Work Rights Centre, has organised a joint letter opposing the Government’s proposed changes to settlement rights. The letter is signed by Unison General Secretary Andrea Egan, over 50 MPs, 21 peers and 33 civil society organisations.

The cross-party letter was sent to the Home Office yesterday. It warns that plans to double the settlement period for most migrants to ten years, and fifteen years for care workers, will “undermine the Government’s priorities for economic growth, reducing child poverty and strong public services.”

Duncan-Jordan has led the campaign in Parliament against the controversial proposals, tabling a Parliamentary Motion – and directly challenging Keir Starmer before Christmas, asking at PMQs: “Does the Prime Minister agree that if we are to be a proud, rules-based nation, going back on our word to people who are contributing to our society and building lives here is not only unfair, but profoundly un-British?”

Appealing to Ministers’ sense of ‘British values,’ the letter notes: “The British public believe in fair play: that if you work hard, follow the rules and contribute, Government should tread lightly on your life.” It calls on the Government to “uphold its promises – we cannot simply change the rules halfway through an agreed process.”

Fearing the proposals could drive away foreign-born care workers in a care sector already facing 110,000 vacancies, the letter warns these changes will “only worsen care provision” and push the sector “closer to breaking point.” As of March 2025, the adult social care sector in England faces a vacancy rate of 6.4% (significantly higher than the 2.3% average), according to Skills for Care workforce intelligence data.

The letter makes two recommendations to the Home Office: 

• Halt the consultation process until a full Impact Assessment is published
• Rule out retrospective application

The letter comes hot on the tails of a packed Westminster Hall debate where nearly 50 Labour MPs spoke against the Home Secretary’s plans. There are concerns the proposals will not be put to a vote, blocking transparency of the changes and shutting out democracy.

Neil Duncan-Jordan MP said: “A Labour Government has lost its way when its 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’re decent, hardworking people who do 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 punish those who have already built their home and their work around promises our Government made them.”

Andrea Egan, General Secretary, Unison said: “Ministers must pause these proposals immediately and properly investigate the effect of any reforms. Failure to look at all the consequences is reckless. There’s a risk they’ll have another Windrush-style scandal on their hands.

“You cannot move the goalposts and retrospectively extend the qualifying period to people who came to the UK under existing rules. The Home Office consultation refers to overseas social care staff as ‘low waged and low skilled’. The country should be thanking these workers, not insulting them. The care sector can’t be built on exploited, dehumanised workers.”

Work Rights Centre CEO Dr Dora-Olivia Vicol said:“These plans condemn migrant workers to at least a decade of sponsorship, tied to employers for years with no opportunity for upward mobility, and at risk of exploitation. They reduce contribution to the balance on a payslip, and penalise the most vulnerable for getting sick or being a refugee. Retrospective application means that while migrant workers have upheld their side of the contract, the UK government is trying to renege on its own.

“It is simply not right to canvas the public’s view on the biggest shake-up to the immigration system in 50 years when the government has not assessed the potential impact on commutes, public services, and our economy. This consultation is a farce and it must be restarted with the full picture made available to the public.”

More detail on how the proposed changes would work in practice can be found in the Work Rights Centre’s guide: Settling in the UK. Read Work Rights Centre’s policy analysis of the proposals: Earned settlement proposals: An extraordinary betrayal of migrant communities.

Image: Migrants welcome here GJN banner. Author: Global Justice Now, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.