# Burnham backs hard line on migration with a softer message > The prime minister supports Shabana Mahmood's strict immigration reforms but wants to frame them as rewarding contribution, not punishment. - Title: Burnham backs hard line on migration with a softer message - Summary: The prime minister supports Shabana Mahmood's strict immigration reforms but wants to frame them as rewarding contribution, not punishment. Andy Burnham… - Keywords: andy burnham, shabana mahmood, migration policy, immigration reform, labour government, uk borders, care workers, nigel farage, news, world, Burnham, backs - Source: the Guardian — https://theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/nov/02/migration-andy-burnham-shabana-mahmood-labour-immigration - Published: 2026-11-02T20:39:52+00:00 - Read time: 2 min - Topics: andy burnham, shabana mahmood, migration policy, immigration reform, labour government, uk borders, care workers, nigel farage, news, world ## Burnham defends his migration record While campaigning in Makerfield, Andy Burnham dismissed Nigel Farage's attacks on him as soft on migration as ridiculous.He said he worked in the Home Office under Tony Blair returning people with no basis to stay. > I used to have to travel to governments around the world and persuade them to take back planes of people who had come here with no basis to stay ## Burnham backs Mahmood but wants to reframe Burnham supported home secretary Shabana Mahmood's attempts to limit legal and illegal migration, which some senior Labour figures criticised as unBritish. But he wanted to reframe the changes differently. > I think there's a different way of thinking about it that might in the end get you to a better position ## Burnham sees migration as moral issue The prime minister's political allies say Burnham regards migration as a moral issue, showing voters the government controls UK borders and will act. He also wants to tell a positive story about migration's contribution. ## Burnham argues migrants fill economic gaps In an ITV interview, Burnham said planned migration makes it difficult to say if levels are too high or too low. He argued migrants help plug gaps in the economy and contribute to the country. > When you have planned migration, it's difficult to say if it's too high or too low ## Care workers get major exemption Mahmood's reforms included a significant carve-out for almost three hundred thousand care workers to apply for indefinite leave to remain after five years, relieving pressure on the social care sector. ## High earners and key workers get faster settlement Those deemed to make a strong contribution to the UK, including high earners, those with strong British connections, and health and teaching workers, can also settle in five years under the new rules. ## Burnham frames reforms as fairness Burnham argued the reforms are about fairness. Those making valuable contributions should settle earlier, others should wait longer, and those who abuse the system or arrive illegally will be refused or wait longer. > It is only fair that those who are making the most valuable contribution to our communities are given the opportunity to settle earlier ## Farage calls carve-out capitulation The Conservatives and Reform are pushing a different narrative. Nigel Farage described the care workers carve-out as the beginning of capitulation on borders, not genuine hardline policy. > the beginning of the capitulation ## Burnham announces policy while abroad Burnham's statement on the reforms came in a press release while he was travelling to the Commonwealth leaders summit in Antigua, not from the Commons or alongside home secretary Mahmood. ## Key takeaway Andy Burnham backs Shabana Mahmood's strict migration limits but is reframing them as fairness to those making a contribution, not a crackdown.