Overview
- Kemi Badenoch said tougher rules on indefinite leave to remain would not be applied retrospectively and confirmed the Conservatives would not deport people already legally settled.
- She said shadow minister Katie Lam had spoken imprecisely after Lam suggested some legally settled people would "go home," comments that prompted a backlash inside the party.
- The party maintains a formal policy to restrict access to benefits for non‑British citizens, with Badenoch distinguishing entitlements like maternity pay from means‑tested support.
- Chris Philp’s May draft bill proposed revoking ILR for people earning under £38,700 or who had claimed benefits, and he later said any changes would apply only to arrivals since 2021, a position that conflicts with the earlier draft.
- Labour denounced the Conservatives’ shifting messages as a humiliation, while senior Tories such as James Cleverly stated that retrospective changes were not party policy and the wider legal migration plan remains under review.