The question now being whispered across Westminster is no longer if Britain’s leadership could change, but who might take over if it does. Right now the spotlight is on Shabana Mahmood, a tough-talking Home Secretary whose rise has been fast, controversial, and historic in the making. If she were to succeed Keir Starmer, Mahmood would become the United Kingdom’s first Muslim prime minister and one of the most prominent leaders of Pakistani-origin ever to hold the office.
Mahmood’s growing profile comes as Starmer’s premiership faces its most serious crisis yet. Fallout from the release of the Epstein files in the United States has shaken governments across Europe and landed heavily on the UK. The controversy intensified after revelations about Peter Mandelson’s past links to convicted financier Jeffrey Epstein, which led to outrage within the governing Labour Party.
Who is Shabana Mahmood?
Mahmood is not a traditional unity candidate. Regardless of her background as a Muslim woman with Pakistani roots, she has built her reputation on firm, right-leaning positions within Labour, especially on immigration. As home secretary, she has argued that permanent residency in the UK is “a privilege, not a right,” and pushed through plans to double the standard wait for settlement from five years to ten.This tough stance has won her praise from voters worried about border control, but angered parts of her own party. Around 40 Labour MPs have criticised the changes as unfair and retrospective. Even so, party strategists see Mahmood as someone who could blunt the appeal of Nigel Farage and his Reform UK by projecting authority on migration and security.
Born in Birmingham to parents with roots in Pakistan and Mirpur in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Mahmood trained as a lawyer before entering politics. She studied law at Oxford, qualified as a barrister, and entered Parliament in 2010 as one of the UK’s first female Muslim MPs.
Her rise accelerated after Labour returned to power. She served as justice secretary and lord chancellor before taking over the Home Office in September 2025, placing her in charge of border security, policing, and national security oversight.
What are Mahmood’s policies?
Beyond immigration, Mahmood has taken a firm line on law and order. She has defended expanding facial recognition technology across police forces and rejected demands for devolving policing powers to Wales. Civil liberties groups have raised concerns, but supporters argue her approach reassures voters looking for stability.Within Labour, her supporters say this mix of discipline and delivery is exactly what the party needs in a volatile political moment. Bookmakers currently give Mahmood around a 10 percent chance of becoming prime minister. Yet her supporters argue the numbers miss the moment. As the BBC has noted, her identity and politics cut in opposite directions, attracting both criticism and also admiration at this point.
