Some Labour backbenchers have already come out publicly against the government’s radical reforms to the asylum system, which will be announced in full by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood in the House of Commons today. Here is the New Statesman’s rolling tracker of the Labour MPs who have criticised her plans:
1. Tony Vaughan
In a post on X, Vaughan criticised the policy and said: “The rhetoric around these reforms encourages the same culture of divisiveness that sees racism and abuse growing in our communities.”
2. John McDonnell
McDonnell endorsed Vaughan and said: “He is reflecting here what many in the PLP feel.” Following Mahmood’s statement, McDonnell said in a statement on X: “Children who’ve already often been traumatised in their lives will be hurt. I’ll not support inflicting further harm on them.”
3. Abtisam Mohamed
Mohamed has endorsed Tony Vaughan.
4. Stella Creasy
Creasy wrote a piece in the Guardian criticising the government.
5. Brian Leishman
Leishman told the New Statesman: “We need to build a caring compassionate society that looks after people from the UK and also from other countries. And that needs to be done with real Labour Party values.”
6. Clive Lewis
Retweeted Vaughan.
7. Nadia Whittome
She has called the changes “wrong on every level” and “truly shameful”.
8. Bell Ribeiro-Addy
In a statement on X, Ribeiro-Addy said: “The government’s latest asylum proposals seem calculated to do nothing but inflict more misery and uncertainty on people seeking safety in this country. This is not opposing the politics of hatred and division, this is holding the door open for them.”
9. Kate Osborne
Retweeted Vaughan.
10. Olivia Blake
Retweeted Vaughan
11. Cat Eccles
Retweeted Vaughan.
12. Peter Lamb
Retweeted Vaughan.
13. Simon Opher
In a statement, Opher said: “We should push back on the racist agenda of Reform rather than echo it.”
14. Sarah Owen
In a statement, Owen said: “A strong immigration system doesn’t need to be a cruel one. It shouldn’t need saying – but refugees & asylum seekers are real people, fleeing war and persecution.”
15. Richard Burgon
Burgon said in a statement on X “this approach isn’t just morally wrong; it’s politically disastrous”.
16. Ian Byrne
The MP for Liverpool West Derby echoed the words of Richard Burgon, his Socialist Campaign Group colleague, calling the changes “morally bankrupt and politically disastrous”. He said on X: “Our party won’t win voters back this way.”
17. Rachael Maskell
The recently reinstated Labour rebel said: “We have to recognise that the challenges we are facing in our immigration and asylum system stem from the UK leaving the Dublin Agreement, something the leaders of Reform UK promoted.” Maskell later told Times Radio, “The dehumanisation of people in desperation is the antithesis of what the Labour Party is about.”
18. Andy McDonald
In a statement, McDonald called on the government to “withdraw” the new asylum policies, describing them as “cruel, unfair, and unworkable”. He said: “Punishing the vulnerable will not fix the problems communities actually face. Instead of letting the right dictate its priorities, the government should focus on housing, healthcare, and the cost of living – the issues that matter to ordinary people.”
19. Neil Duncan-Jordan
Duncan-Jordan, only recently restored as a Labour MP after having the whip suspended for persistent rebellion, has now come out against Mahmood’s proposals and said “kicking out recognised asylum seekers doesn’t speak to any of our values”.
20. Steve Witherden
The MP for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr has suggested the Home Secretary is “demonising” asylum seekers. In a video statement he said “British workers have more in common with asylum seekers living on £49 a week than they do with billionaires or multi-millionaires. Tackling the cost-of-living crisis should be our priority, not demonising asylum seekers.”
21. Jon Trickett
Trickett, the veteran left-wing MP, appeared to criticise the government when he said “time to stop kicking people lower down the social scale (like asylum seekers) whilst protecting the rich”.
22. Apsana Begum
Begum said: “By ripping up protections for people who have fled war and persecution, this government normalises the cruelty of the last one, to appease the far right.”
23. Imran Hussain
He called the move “a desperate attempt to copy Reform, not fix a broken system”.
Reporting by Ethan Croft, Rachel Cunliffe, Megan Kenyon, and Ailbhe Rea.
[Further reading: Shabana Mahmood’s warning to liberals]
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