Richmond Park News: 6 November 2026
SHABANA MAHMOOD’S STATEMENT ON INDEFINITE LEAVE TO REMAIN
On Monday, I spoke in the Home Secretary's announcement on changes to indefinite leave to remain. The Home Secretary laid out the new path for new arrivals to achieve Earned Settlement.
I highlighted my opposition to these blanket retroactive changes to the qualifying criteria for indefinite leave to remain (ILR), which violate the fundamental British values of fairness and respect. By moving the goalposts in this way, I am deeply concerned that the Government will do damage to the economy and the social fabric of this country.
In my remarks I highlighted that many already strongly contributing to our society and economy are now being made to pay the price of following the rules with longer qualifying periods and additional visa costs.
Since the announcement, I have tabled two written questions to the Home Secretary and written to her to ask for clarification of the impact of these changes on children and spouses particularly, as well as what transitional arrangements or exemptions could be extended to skilled workers who obtained or applied for their visas before May 2025, similar to the protections being discussed for doctors, nurses, care workers, and teachers.
You can read my letter to the Home Secretary by clicking here.
VISIT TO AUTOLUS MANUFACTURING FACILITY
On Thursday I visited Autolus, a UK-founded biotechnology company focused on developing next-generation programmed T cell therapies for the treatment of cancer.
The company specialises in CAR-T cell therapies, which involve modifying a patient's own immune cells to recognise and attack cancer cells. Autolus' lead therapy is being developed for the treatment of certain blood cancers, with a focus on improving efficacy, safety, and patient outcomes.
It was excellent to hear about the job opportunities Autolus is creating, running extensive training programmes, bringing young people into work, providing skilled jobs for the local community and bringing in experts from further afield.
It was great to hear from the team how they are creating a UK life sciences scale-up framework, what it takes to build & retain advanced-therapy manufacturing capability and what needs to be done to make the UK competitive and an attractive place to build and scale up companies.
TREASURY ORAL QUESTION ON STUDENT LOANS
On Tuesday I asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer about the freezing of the thresholds at which graduates begin to repay their student loans. The failure to address the broken and unfair student loan repayment system was a glaring omission from last week’s Budget.
In July the Treasury Committee released a report which underlined the injustice in the student loan system, particularly in regard to the unilateral changes which the government announced in the autumn budget 2025. The report goes as far to say that the government has “a moral obligation” to reverse their decision to freeze the threshold at which student loans are repaid. This has been echoed by moneysaving expert Martin Lewis who described these changes as a ‘disgrace’ and morally reprehensible.
I asked the chancellor if he would set out a timeline of when the thresholds would be readjusted to make the repayment system fairer for young people. You can see my contribution here.
URGENT QUESTION ON THE FUTURE OF POUNDLAND
On Tuesday I responded to an urgent question in Parliament on the situation at Poundland and actions possible to protect jobs in my capacity as business spokesperson.
In my remarks, I highlighted my concerns about the risks to the jobs of the 12,000 employees of Poundland who are facing significant uncertainty.
I also highlighted that the fall of Poundland raises bigger questions about our high streets. Its troubles show how much pressure both shoppers and high street businesses are under. The prime minister has set out his ambition to ‘revive the high street ’; however, the collapse of one of the UK's most well-known and affordable retailers highlights the extent to which our high streets are struggling.
The business rates system puts our high street shops at an unfair disadvantage compared to online retail giants, and the NICs hike imposed by this government is unfair and counterproductive. I therefore asked the minister if they would properly overhaul the current business rates system and scrap the unfair jobs tax at the very least for part-time workers.
You can see my contribution here.
DIWALI CELEBRATIONS
Last weekend, I was delighted to attend Namaste Kingston’s Diwali Utsav Celebration. The music and dance performances were spectacular and - as always - I very much enjoyed the food and drink. It was a beautiful event, bringing together the community from across Kingston, and I was honoured to be part of such a special occasion.
COMMUNITY NEWS
SHOP, SING AND CELEBRATE: EAST SHEEN
On the 20th of November, East Sheen is coming together to kick off the festive season, with an evening of Christmas cheer, late-night shopping, carols and family fun.
It will start at 4 pm at Milestone Green in the centre of East Sheen, with Father Christmas arriving at 4:30 pm. This is a brilliant event to celebrate East Sheen’s wonderful Shops, restaurants, and cafes.
It is organised by East Sheen Village in collaboration with local shops, schools, and businesses. You can find more information about the event here.
