Andy Burnham has joined the Labour revolt against Shabana Mahmood’s immigration plans. Hitting out at the idea refugees should wait 20 years for permanent residency, he told the Today Programme:
“I do have a concern about leaving people without the ability to settle…And it also may leave people in a sense of limbo and unable to integrate…What I would say is, it’s really important, on the back of the measures that she’s announced, that there is a considered debate.”
He then went on to promote his record on “leadership on growth” as Greater Manchester Mayor and what he thinks he could bring to Westminster, adding:
“I’m providing leadership on growth, which is what I think the country needs and is helpful to the Government right now, and we’re doing this in advance of the Budget. I hope to really bring to life the growth story for the Government… I think part of the country’s problem is the political culture of Westminster, which is playing out in front of us right now. In Greater Manchester, we’ve built a new economy and a new way of doing politics and more of that is what the country needs.”
The King of the North also thanked Labour MP Clive Lewis for his “support” after Lewis suggested he’d give up his seat for him – an offer he later backtracked on. As Guido has noted before, Labour’s National Executive Committee remains determined to block Burnham’s early return to Westminster. He’s not the only one Starmer’s trying to fend off…
