Shabana Mahmood has suggested she could one day seek to lead the Labour Party, saying politicians who deny ambition for the top job are “basically lying.”
Speaking at a fringe event during the Labour Party conference, the new home secretary said she is committed to serving Keir Starmer but stopped short of ruling out her own leadership ambitions.
“I’m very happy to serve Keir Starmer,” she said. “You shouldn’t believe anyone in politics who says they’re not ambitious about the top job because they’re basically lying,” she told The Times.
When asked directly if she sees herself as a future leader, Mahmood replied: “If I answer that question, I’m not going to be home secretary any more.”
In the same session, she backed the introduction of digital identity cards to tackle benefit fraud and illegal work. “It’s always been a no-brainer if one of the results of having an ID card is to clamp down on the ability of people to cheat the system,” she said.
Mahmood also set out her plan to require migrants to show ten years’ residence and evidence of contribution, such as volunteering or skilled jobs, before being granted indefinite leave to remain.
