Labour's immigration policy hits a structural wall: care workers versus net migration targets

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood proposes doubling the settlement period to ten years—a blunt tool to cut net migration figures. But care workers occupy different ground: the NHS and local authority systems depend on them. Minister Mike Tapp publicly challenged the blanket approach, breaching cabinet discipline. PM Starmer kept him in post, sidestepping whether sector-specific shortages should override headline migration targets. The tension remains unresolved.