Novara Live Shabana Mahmood Faces Furious Backlash to Asylum Overhaul
Nov 18, 2025
Freddie Feltham, former Labour staffer and host of 'What the F is Left,' dissects the backlash against Shabana Mahmood's asylum overhaul. Beth Gardner-Smith offers insights on how family ties, not policy, actually shape asylum decisions. Tom Darling discusses the forthcoming Renters' Rights Act, emphasizing protections like the end of Section 21 evictions. Meanwhile, Sami Hamdi shares his harrowing detention by ICE, highlighting the injustices faced by detainees and the importance of free speech advocacy.
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Episode notes
Framing Reform As Problem-Solving
- Shabana Mahmood frames asylum reform as fixing a visible problem rather than appeasing other politicians.
- She argues confronting division matters more than matching opponents' rhetoric in Parliament.
Deterrence Lacks Evidence
- Beth Gardner-Smith says evidence is weak that harsher domestic asylum rules deter crossings.
- She points to family, language and diaspora as stronger determinants of where refugees go.
Speed Up Moves Out Of Hotels
- Give temporary limited leave to high-grant nationalities so people can work and leave hotels quickly.
- Use a Homes-for-Ukraine style sponsorship and reinvest savings into local temporary housing and integration funds.
