As Andy Burnham prepares to take over as Prime Minister, we still have no idea who will be the next Home Secretary. It might even still be Shabana Mahmood, if the new PM decides to make someone else Chancellor.
But whoever it is, there’s a strong case that Mahmood is the first Home Secretary since Theresa May in 2016 to leave the job with their reputation enhanced. Mahmood had an important job before, as Justice Secretary but if you’d asked 100 people in the street to identify her, I doubt if more than 99 would have been able to. The role of Home Secretary is far more high profile; one can confidently assert that at least 98 would be able to name her now.
Any significant watering down will show that Burnham is going to return Labour to its comfort zone
In other words, it’s not so much who she is as what she has done as Home Secretary that matters. And what she has done is to introduce a comprehensive set of reforms that tackle one of the most toxic issues in politics: immigration. Specifically, under the Immigration and Asylum Bill introduced just last month, the notion of “family life” as set out in Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights is narrowed to immediate family; foreign criminals with serious convictions lose their protected status; a new appeals authority to replace the First-tier Tribunal is introduced; and asylum seekers in public accommodation are required to contribute to their upkeep once able. All these changes are designed to lead to fewer arrivals, more removals and controlled safe routes.
