Prominent Labour lawmaker Yvette Cooper said on Monday that she would not be voting against the Conservative government's Immigration bill due to "cross-party spirit" and in defiance of the Labour Party whip.
The Labour MP described the new law as "flawed" but said that she recognized that legislation on immigration was needed. Cooper added the caveat that she would "put forward amendments" that she hopes "will receive cross-party support".
However, 15 Labour MPs signed an amendment to the legislation that they would refuse to give it a second reading because it “contains no provisions to end the hostile environment”.
The Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill ends European Union freedom of movement and introduces a broad new framework on who can live and work in the UK.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said the plans would create a “high skill” economy but critics have said that the coronavirus pandemic has shifted public perception over what defines skill.
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the National Health Service (NHS) and other frontline industries have been highlighted as sectors which rely heavily on immigrant labour.
Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, Nick Thomas-Symonds, argued that the salary threshold of £25,600 included in the bill signalled that those earning below the line are “unskilled and unwelcome”.
“Those who clapped [for carers] on Thursday are only too happy to vote through a bill that will send a powerful message to those same people – that they are not considered by this government to be skilled workers,” he said.
“Are shop workers unskilled? Are refuse collectors? Are local government workers? Are NHS staff? Are care workers? Of course they are not”, he added.
Those who wish to work in the country under the new system can be awarded extra points if they have certain qualifications or if there is a shortage in a given industry.
The bill was first introduced in December 2018, but suffered a series of defeats under Theresa May's then-minority government. Now that the Tories have returned with a majority of 80, it passed with 351 votes to 252, and will now go on to further scrutiny and proposed amendments in parliament.
Immigration was a key driving force behind the vote in 2016 to leave the European Union. Freedom of movement will remain in place during the transition period which ends at the end of 2020.