Mahmood agenda bites: Migrant worker applications nearly halve in a year Politics The number of applications for skilled worker visas has nearly halved in a year after home secretary Shabana Mahmood raised the barriers to entry for migrants. Official data released by the Home Office showed that there were 34,700 skilled worker visa applications in the year to March. This was a 44 per cent decrease from [...]
Defence boosts Serco amid asylum hotel decline Politics Government defence contracts helped Serco deliver a higher profit in 2025 despite a drop in the use of migrant hotels, once a key revenue stream for the London-listed company. Serco, an outsourcing company that covers government work on everything from migrant hotels to waste collection, was boosted by higher state expenditure both in the UK [...]
Family visas plummet as Mahmood targets migrant dependants Politics The number of family-related visas plummeted over 2025 as the government clamped down on dependants joining migrant workers and students. In fresh data published by the Home Office on Thursday, it was revealed that just 67,000 visas were offered to spouses, children and other dependants of migrants. It represented a sharp 22 per cent drop [...]
Reeves to overhaul visa system for talented migrants in Davos pitch January 20, 2026 Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to talk up new visa schemes aimed at highly-skilled migrants working in tech in a pitch to business leaders and top researchers gathered at Davos. Reeves is set to talk up the Labour government’s new immigration policies as she hopes to get the attention of some of the world’s richest [...]
Asylum seekers’ cost to taxpayer is unknown, public auditor says December 10, 2025 The full cost of asylum to the British taxpayer is unknown as the government has not processed data on how much local authorities spend on migrants, the National Audit Office (NAO) has said. In a broad report mapping out asylum seekers’ journeys through the UK’s legal systems and support structures, public auditors found that there [...]
High earners and entrepreneurs to get immigration rule carve-out November 20, 2025 High earners and innovators are set to be handed softer rules on settled status despite an immigration crackdown led by home secretary Shabana Mahmood. Under sweeping reforms to the legal migration system, Mahmood has revealed she is planning on only letting people arriving in the UK from 2021 to gain settled status, formally known as [...]
Employers set to pay more to hire migrants as immigration rules tightened October 14, 2025 Employers will have to pay higher fees to hire skilled migrant workers as part of home secretary Shabana Mahmood’s moves to strengthen immigration rules. Under new rules set to be introduced in parliament on Tuesday, migrant workers will have to pass A-level English language standard tests in order to live in the UK while employers [...]
Labour to grant settled status only to working migrants September 29, 2025 The UK government will only grant settled status rights to working migrants under radical plans drawn up by Labour’s Shabana Mahmood. In a speech at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, Mahmood will tell an audience of activists that the government will tighten its indefinite leave to remain rights, which allow migrants to gain settled [...]
Nigel Farage rows back on key migration pledges September 24, 2025 Nigel Farage has appeared to row back on key aspects of his legal migration pledges amid mounting questions over whether his figures stand up as well as fierce criticism from top lawyers and researchers on the viability of his plan to end Indefinite Leave to Remain. The Reform UK leader told LBC on Wednesday morning [...]
Work and study visas fall in push to reduce immigration August 21, 2025 Work visas issued to migrants have fallen by 36 per cent compared to last year, fresh data has revealed, as tightened rules on skilled workers and care providers have lowered the numbers of people arriving in the UK. The Labour government is under considerable pressure to cut net migration from previous peaks of nearly one [...]