Andrea Egan addressing an anti-racism rally in March 2023. Then president of Unison, she has since become general secretary (Mark Kerrison/Alamy Live News)

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In a forthcoming interview with The House magazine, the head of Labour-affiliated Unison – the biggest trade union in Britain – also said Mahmood being “left in position” as Home Secretary was a “disappointment”.

Mahmood remained as Home Secretary when Andy Burnham succeeded Keir Starmer in No 10, disappointing some on the left of the Labour Party and trade unions which represent migrant workers affected by the proposed changes.

Egan said: “That was one of my disappointments – that Shabana Mahmood was left in position, simply because of her position on the migrant workers.

“As yet, there’s just a wall of silence at the moment. I think that’s absolutely unacceptable because they make these big announcements, and what they’ve got is these hundreds of thousands of workers who are just being left on a thread at the minute, wondering where their futures lie and what’s going to happen to them and their families.”

Asked whether there had been any engagement with Mahmood, the Unison general secretary replied: “Nothing. She’s not even answered requests for a meeting. I think that’s really disappointing.”

At the TUC Congress gathering of unions this week, the government was urged to rethink proposals critics say would drive away overseas workers needed in critical public service roles in the UK.

Under the changes, the standard wait to qualify for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) would increase from five to 10 years, while those on health and social care visas would face a 15-year wait before receiving settled status.

They would impact people already living in the UK but not those who have been granted settlement.

Only with ILR do those who have come to the UK gain the right to live, work and study indefinitely in the country.

Speaking as a backbencher earlier this year, Angela Rayner – who is now back in Cabinet – called the changes “un-British”. Burnham at the time said the party “would do well to listen to what Angela has to say”.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Last November, we set out reforms to double the standard qualifying period for settlement to 10 years for most migrants, with shorter routes for those who contribute the most to the UK. 

“Under the proposals, key public service workers, including doctors and nurses, may settle after five years.

“A consultation on elements of those reforms has now closed, and we will set out our response in due course.”

Mahmood declined to comment.

Speaking to MPs on the Home Affairs Select Committee about the reforms on Tuesday, the Home Secretary said: “We’re trying to strike the right balance between our responsibilities to people who have come here to work, our recognition of the failures we inherited as a government, and also our need to do right by the people who are already here, who pay for the systems that we all rely on.”

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According to sources familiar with the discussions, representatives from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) along with other high-ranking government officials were called in to hear the Deputy Chief of Mission’s concerns that the social media ban would discriminate against US tech companies. 

The US is understood to believe there have been failures in the Australian social media ban, with officials highlighting small drops in usage by Under 16s. They argue that more parental controls rather than a widespread ban would work better.

Following a consultation, the U-16 ban was announced in June this year, after Australia introduced the world’s first outright ban on social media for under-16s in December 2025. Labour MP Emily Darlington, one of those who campaigned for the ban, told PoliticsHome: “The first duty of the government is to protect its citizens. Digital security is national security. It would be great to work with our allies on this, but if the UK has to, it will proceed alone”. 

While the meeting was presented as non-adversarial, PoliticsHome understands the US intended to use it to raise a litany of criticisms across a number of ministerial portfolios. The US feels the way in which the Online Safety Act’s levy on revenues from big tech firms is taken from a proportion of their global revenue rather than reflecting their UK size is unfair.

American officials are also believed to have repeated their warnings around the UK’s ‘trusted media’ reforms, which would see the BBC, ITV and others prioritised on social media algorithms, question how media brands were being placed in the ‘trusted’ camp and raised concerns that the changes to the algorithm could inadvertently affect US citizens. 

The US Embassy declined to comment. A DCMS source described the meeting as “routine engagement” and said the department would “continue to work closely to ensure policies are understood and to identify shared priorities”.

The intervention comes amid heightened tensions in the ‘special relationship’ after it was revealed that the US secretly flew out a diplomat accused of possessing child abuse images from the UK to face justice in the US. 

Marsha De Cordova, Rosena Allin-Khan, and Fleur Anderson are the Labour MPs representing the constituencies in the London Borough of Wandsworth (Alamy)

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PoliticsHome previously revealed that the south-west London borough was planning the country’s biggest ever tax rise. The council is expected to announce a rise of at least 160 per cent, with multiple figures – including higher figures – currently under consideration, according to multiple sources.

Wandsworth, which is Conservative-run after Labour lost control in May, currently has one of the lowest council tax rates in the country, with residents paying around 0.1 per cent of the value of the property they live in per year.

However, recent reforms to how central government distributes funding to local authorities have decreased the grant funding available to some London councils, including Wandsworth. Wandsworth Council funding is projected to fall by around 40 per cent.

The Labour government has said its reforms to local government funding prioritise parts of the country with higher deprivation so that the system is “truly based on need”. However, affected councils in the capital say the changes will exacerbate existing cost pressures and force them into significant tax rises.

Wandsworth Council recently worked with the Conservative Party to launch a formal appeal against cuts to local government funding, with Wandsworth Conservatives telling PoliticsHome that the new settlement “unfairly punishes Wandsworth residents”.

Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea are also set to follow Wandsworth in formally appealing the cuts.

Tory councillor and leader of Wandsworth Council Robert Morritt wrote to the Labour MPs representing constituencies in the borough of Wandsworth to ask whether they would support the council’s appeal to the Labour government.

Tooting MP Rosena Allin-Khan, Putney MP Fleur Anderson and Battersea MP Marsha de Cordova sent back a letter refusing to offer their support.

In the letter, seen by PoliticsHome, the MPs wrote that while they “continue to express our concerns about local authority funding challenges”, they “cannot support a narrative that seeks to rewrite the recent financial history of Wandsworth Council or shift responsibility for damaging choices that are being made by the current Conservative administration”.  

“When Labour left office in May 2026, Wandsworth Council was in a strong financial position,” they wrote.

“The Council had some of the highest reserves in London and no external debt. Labour maintained balanced budgets, delivered Britain’s lowest council tax and carefully managed public finances, while continuing to invest in local services and communities. 

“Residents are entitled to ask why a council that inherited such a strong financial position has already made cuts in services, and why they are being threatened with a council tax rise of 160 per cent and decisions to cut further services.”

The MPs also said they were concerned by the “increasingly political nature of council communications”. 

A spokesperson for Putney Conservative Association said: “It is deeply disappointing that Wandsworth’s three Labour MPs will not support the Council’s challenge to the government’s 40 per cent cut to Wandsworth’s funding.

“Putney MP Fleur Anderson and Tooting MP Rosena Allin-Khan both voted for the government’s Local Government Finance Report that implemented the new funding settlement, while Battersea MP Marsha de Cordova had no vote recorded.

“For them to refuse even to acknowledge the consequences of the settlement for residents, let alone support residents, is extremely disappointing. Whatever their party, our MPs should be putting Wandsworth residents first and joining us in fighting for a fairer deal.”