SNP asks Greater Manchester mayor to back Scottish control of asylum policy

The Scottish National Party has formally asked Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, to support handing asylum and immigration policy to the Scottish Parliament. The call was reported by the Glasgow Times.

It is a political request, not a legislative one. No rule, deadline, or quota changes.

What is the SNP asking for?

The party wants the Scottish Parliament to gain direct control over who enters Scotland and how asylum claims are decided there. In UK constitutional terms, both areas are reserved to Westminster.

The Scotland Act 1998 placed immigration and asylum outside Holyrood's reach, alongside defence and foreign affairs. The Scottish Government can shape integration policy through programmes such as New Scots, which funds English-language classes and housing help for people already granted refugee status. It cannot set entry rules or process claims.

Why approach Andy Burnham?

Burnham leads England's largest city-region outside London and chairs the network of metro mayors. Greater Manchester already runs asylum dispersal support and has piloted schemes to move asylum seekers out of hotel accommodation.

He has also publicly criticised the Home Office's reliance on hotels while claims are processed. That positions him as a sympathetic voice for an SNP argument that dispersal decisions should sit closer to local councils.

By writing to Burnham, the SNP is seeking an English ally, not only a Scottish one.

Who is affected if policy actually changed?

Potentially every asylum seeker whose case is processed in Scotland, and every employer recruiting there. A separate Scottish visa would mean different salary thresholds and shortage-occupation lists from those used in England and Wales.

The UK labour market and travel area are joined up. Any separate system would need border controls within Great Britain, which neither the UK nor the Scottish government has proposed.

What stays reserved either way?

Entry clearance, asylum decision-making, deportation, and visa rules. These would remain in London unless primary legislation at Westminster changed the devolution settlement.

The current UK government has not signalled that it intends to do so. Without a UK Act of Parliament, Holyrood cannot take on these powers, regardless of what Scottish or English mayors say.

What does the call actually do?

It places the SNP's longer-standing position on the desk of a Labour mayor with direct experience of asylum dispersal. That is useful political positioning ahead of any future devolution debate.

For now, no rule has moved. Scottish policy on asylum and immigration continues to follow whatever the UK government sets in London.

Takeaway

The letter is a marker of where the SNP wants the debate to go, not a step towards a new Scottish visa or asylum system.