Can Shabana Mahmood save the Labour Party? Her fiercest opponent is not Reform UK - Christopher Hope

Keith Bays
Fri, 03 Apr 2026 12:33:11 +0000
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The question around Shabana Mahmood is not whether the Home Secretary should become Labour's next leader, but whether she can pull the party back from the brink of electoral annihilation.

Because right now the party of Bevan and Attlee looks tired and divided only two years into power, Sir Keir Starmer looks weak after multiple U-Turns, and most damaging of all, Labour is unsure of what it stands for.

Ms Mahmood is not everyone’s cup of tea in the Labour party; to the supporters of Angela Rayner, her stance on illegal immigration will fly in the face of what they consider to be traditional Labour values.

But to Labour voters worried about immigration, the grooming gangs scandal and securing the UK borders, she holds the key to restoring Labour in the polls and taking the fight to the surging Reform UK.

The Home Secretary's appeal comes from dealing with the small boats crisis and a new approach to finding the truth for grooming gang victims.

First, Ms Mahmood's push to drive a hard bargain with the French as she negotiates a new deal to tackle illegal migration.

The Conservatives' old deal, agreed with France - in which the UK paid the French hundreds of millions of pounds - has been widely criticised, although the Government says 42,000 crossings have been stopped since the 2024 general election.

Ms Mahmood's new idea is thought to link payments to the number of migrants crossing. "We want more bang for our buck", a source close to the Home Secretary told me this week.

But the electorate does not always pay attention to random targets, especially if people continue to cross the channel illegally; the public wants results.

Ms Mahmood understands that. She’s focusing on getting the job done rather than making empty promises; she speaks to a nation that is crying out for action, not excuses.

Her approach is a recognisably tough 'blue Labour' approach to dealing with illegal immigration: reduce the pull factors and beef up border enforcement, a hardline blueprint borrowed from Denmark.

But questions remain whether squeezing supplies of engines from China and boats from Germany is actually working. Even Nigel Farage has respect for Ms Mahmood.

The Reform UK leader told the People's Channel: "I back many of the motives of Shabana Mahmood, but the backbenchers won't let her do any of it."

Second, her approach to the grooming gangs scandal shows she is willing to seek the answers that many have avoided for decades.

The appointment of experienced figures such as Baroness Longfield, Zoe Billingham and Eleanor Kelly will ensure no stone is left unturned in the search for the truth, giving families and the wider public confidence in the process.

I (Christopher Hope) met them all this week when I interviewed for GB News, and I found each deeply impressive, with experience in courts, police forces and - most importantly - of putting the victims at the heart of all they do. That matters.

The grooming gangs' scandal is no longer just a stain on Britain; it is a political pressure point which Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer came around to recognising only after pressure from outlets like GB News. Families are concerned; voters have doubts, and this is a problem that can no longer be ignored.

Third, and most importantly, Ms Mahmood's success is dependent on whether Labour MPs are prepared to support her. There are large numbers on the backbenches that understand the party can’t carry on as it is, yet many continue to waver.

Some on the left are openly at odds with the Home Secretary, with former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner calling her actions “Un-British”, while others keep their heads down in quiet disagreement.

That is not good enough. If Ms Mahmood is to get the job done, she will need her parliamentary colleagues to step up and support her tougher stance that could turn the party's fortunes around.

It could be an uphill struggle. It emerged last weekend that 224 out of the 257 MPs elected at the 2024 general election had previously worked for charities, lobby firms or were formally political staffers.

The backbenchers reek of being out of touch. The prize which Ms Mahmood offers is secure borders, and the grooming gangs scandal detoxified.

The question is whether recalcitrant Labour MPs can see past their own interests to recognise that.