Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s address to conference in full

Thank you, Conference.

It is an honour to address you for the first time as a Labour Home Secretary.

If I am honest, it is an honour I never expected.

And it is one that would have been unthinkable to my parents when they first arrived here in the 1970s.

But if this is a story of progress, it is a contested one.

And I was reminded of that fact just days into this job.

On 13 September, 150,000 people marched through London.

They did so under the banner of a convicted criminal and a former BNP member.

While not everyone was violent, some were. Twenty-six police officers were injured as they tried to keep the peace.

And while not everyone chanted racist slogans, some did, clear that in their view of this country, I have no place. 

It would be easy to dismiss this as nothing but an angry minority – heirs to the skinheads and Paki-bashers of old.

And make no mistake, some were.

But to dismiss what happened that day would be to ignore something bigger, something broader, that is happening across this country.

The story of who we are is contested.

I am a patriot, proudly so. 

Mine is the patriotism of Orwell. Pride in a country that is forever changing, while also, ineffably, always the same.

It is a love of this country as an open, tolerant and generous place.

But that broad vision of who we are is increasingly disputed.

Patriotism, a force for good, is turning into something smaller.

Something more like ethno-nationalism, which struggles to accept that someone who looks like me, and has a faith like mine, can truly be English or British.

There are some who we will never be able to persuade. 

But there are others, a growing number, who are on a path from patriotism towards ethno-nationalism, and this can be stopped.

But to do so, we have to understand why so many people feel this country is not working for them.

Because the truth is, across this country, people feel like things are spinning out of control.

And without control, we simply do not have the conditions in which our country can be open, tolerant and generous.

When people see small boats arriving on our shores, they see a country that has lost control.

When they hear of widespread illegal working, under-cutting British workers, they feel the system is rigged.

And when they see crime unchecked on unsafe streets, they feel fearful.

This was the inheritance that the Conservatives left behind for us.

And their current irrelevance is the price they have paid. 

So it now falls to us to rise to this challenge.

If we do not, our vision of an open, tolerant and generous country will wither.

And where we fail, others will succeed.

Working-class communities will turn away from us – the party that for over 100 years has been their party – and seek solace in the false promises of Farage.

They will turn towards something smaller, something narrower, something less welcoming.

And the division within this country will grow.

So the challenge we now face is this – not just to win the next election, but to keep the country together.

And to fight for our belief in a greater Britain, not a littler England.

That work begins at our borders, where we must restore order and control.

We will always remain a country that gives refuge to those who are fleeing peril.

But we can only be open to the world if we are able to determine who comes in and who must leave.

And It is clear there is more work to be done.

On my second day as Home Secretary, over 1,000 people arrived by small boat.

But the deal with the French, agreed by my predecessor Yvette Cooper, marked a historic step forward.

Yvette, we all owe you our thanks.

The first returns, small in number though growing, send a message.

To those profiting from the trade in human beings – we will break your business model and we will ensure that your crimes do not pay.

And to those considering a perilous small boat journey – the risk is not worth it.

And your only route into this country should be a safe and legal one.

The British public will accept those fleeing peril.

But they will not do so if there is chaos at our border.

Today, the boats continue to arrive.

And so I will do whatever it takes to secure our borders.

Cracking down on the criminal gangs behind the trade.

Discouraging those who are considering a small boat crossing.

Sending those home who have no right to be here.

And ending the use of hotels, that totem of the Tory legacy that has done so much to divide our communities.

In solving this crisis, you may not always like what I do.

We will have to question some of the assumptions and legal constraints that have lasted for a generation and more.

But unless we have control of our borders, and until we can decide who comes in and who must leave, we will never be the open, tolerant and generous country that I know we all believe in.

While small boats are the most visible sign of a loss of control, they are not the only one.

This country has always welcomed migrants.

Like my parents, who came here in pursuit of a better life. Who worked hard, contributed to this country and, in time, become a part of it.

But in recent years, under the last Conservative Government, the scale and the speed of change, as well as the nature of it, has frayed trust and eroded public confidence.

Between 2021 and 2024, we saw over 2.6 million more people enter this country than leave it.

And this included widespread abuse of Boris Johnson’s health and social care visa, which saw 710,000 people arrive here.

Far too many have been able to enter this country and disappear into the black economy – a rank betrayal of the Tories’ old promise that they would take back control.

If we are to preserve our openness to migrants like my parents, then we need a system that is fair to those who are already here.

That means cracking down on illegal working that undercuts British workers. 

It means ensuring hiring practices are fair, forcing companies to fund training for homegrown workers if they are hiring from abroad.

Crucially, it also means setting rules that ensure contribution to this country is a condition of living here.

Because I know that the British people welcome those who come here and contribute, but contribution is a condition of that welcome.

For that reason, we will soon increase the time in which someone must have lived in this country to earn “indefinite leave to remain” from five years to 10.

And we will be consulting on this change soon.

And as part of that consultation, I will be proposing a series of new tests, such as: being in work; making national insurance contributions; not taking a penny in benefits; learning English to a high standard; having no criminal record; and finally, that you have truly given back to your community, such as by volunteering your time to a local cause.

Without meeting these conditions, I do not believe your ability to stay in this country should be automatic.

Some will be able to earn an earlier settlement than 10 years, based on their contribution, while others will be forced to wait longer if they are not contributing enough.

In some cases, they will be barred from indefinite leave to remain entirely.

The British people have always welcomed those who come here, who work hard and who give back.

Time spent in this country alone is not enough.

Just like my parents, you must earn the right to live in this country for good.

If you do, I know this country will welcome you.

Order at our borders.

A fair migration system.

These are necessary conditions for an open, tolerant, generous country.

But they are not the only ones.

Where a nation is fearful, it turns inwards.

When we feel safe, we can look outwards.

So safer streets make for stronger communities.

And that’s why we must focus policing on the issues that matter.

Like knife crime, which tears so many lives apart, and the scourge of violence against women and girls.

In some areas, we are making real progress.

The levels of violent crime in this country are a fraction of what they once were.

But I know it does not feel like things are getting better in many communities across our country.

Where crimes like shoplifting and anti-social behaviour, which tear at the fabric of a local community, seem to be committed without consequence.

So it is right that we focus on neighbourhood policing, with 3,000 more neighbourhood officers by 2026.

We must reform policing to ensure that forces are able to focus their efforts on the crimes the public care about the most.

And to rebuild confidence in our forces, we must prove the impact that good policing can have on a local area.

This year, forces across the country led a “Summer of Action”, tackling street-level crime in 600 locations.

This saw more visible police patrols, more undercover operations, more fines, more protective orders and more arrests.

On the back of that success, this year we will launch a new “Winter of Action”.

Forces across the country, in partnership with local businesses, will target shoplifters and anti-social behaviour during the busiest weeks for all retailers.

Once again, we will reach hundreds of locations – and tackle the offending that wreaks havoc on our high streets.

I am a rare Home Secretary, perhaps the only one whose first job was behind the till in my parents’ corner-shop.

I know there’s nothing “low-level” about shoplifting.

I know what it feels like to keep a cricket bat behind the counter, just in case.

And so I know, better than most, that when we get tough and tackle crime like this, we bring communities together.

Safety is a precondition of the open, tolerant, generous country that we want to be.

While that starts at our streets, it extends to the nation itself.

Far from the public eye, threats against our country are constant – from those who scorn our values, and who seek to divide us.

I will, as a Labour Home Secretary, always put the security of this nation above all else.

And I pay tribute to those whose work keeps us safe, but whose successes are often hidden from public view.

I know what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country in the wake of the devastating terror attacks of 9/11 and 7/7.

I know that we are a stronger and more united country when we tackle those who seek to destroy our way of life, no matter who they may be.

Conference, I know we share a vision.

It is of an open, tolerant, generous country.

It is a patriotism that speaks, but does not feel the need to shout.

It is one that embraces those who trace their roots back in this country over a thousand years, and also those who look like me. 

It is a patriotism that accepts that some things in this country will change, but that there is something essential that will always endure.

I believe we are in a moment where a patriotism like this is at risk, turning instead towards a smaller, more divisive ethno-nationalism.

Our challenge now is to fight for our vision of this country and, in doing so, to hold it together.

That is what I will do as Home Secretary.

With order at our borders.

Fair migration.

Safe streets.

And a secure nation.

Some may describe me in the coming months as a tough Home Secretary.

Perhaps that is true.

But let it never be forgotten that I will be a tough Labour Home Secretary.

Fighting alongside you all for a vision of this country that is distinctly our own.

Thank you, Conference.

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