A leading pollster has criticised the House of Lords for being “out of touch with public opinion” on the Rwanda scheme, after the Liberal Democrats try to veto the bill.
Amidst efforts to strengthen the policy, Mr. Sunak seeks to pass legislation affirming Rwanda as a safe destination, despite resistance from the House of Lords. On Monday, the Rwanda asylum legislation overcame its first significant challenge after being debated in the House of Lords.
It is poised for a tough journey ahead, with the Archbishop of Canterbury cautioning the chamber that it is “leading the nation down a damaging path.”
The bill survived an initial attempt by the Liberal Democrats to block it, with 206 votes to 84 in favour of advancing the bill to its next phase but the unelected chamber is expected to propose many amendments in the coming weeks.
This sets the stage for a potential standoff with the Conservative government, leading to a prolonged back-and-forth, being referred to as potential “ping-pong,” between the Commons and the Lords.
‘Majority’ of People Support Rwanda Plan Despite Warnings
Director of PeoplePolling and analyst Matt Goodwin told The Epoch Times: “Members of the House of Lords are clearly out of touch with public opinion. As we’ve found time and time again, a majority of people in the country support lowering immigration and more people support the Rwanda plan than oppose it.“It appears that members of the House of Lords are not currently reading the research on what ordinary people up and down the country really think and feel.”
Speaking in the Lords on Monday, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said: “We can, as a nation, do better than this bill. With this bill the Government is continuing to seek good objectives in the wrong way, leading the nation down a damaging path.”
Mr. Welby continued, “Rwanda is a country I know well, it is a wonderful country and my complaint is not with Rwanda, nor with its people. It has overcome challenges that this house cannot begin to imagine. But this bill continues, wherever it does it, to outsource our legal and moral responsibilities for refugees and asylum seekers, with other countries far poorer already supporting multitudes more than we are now and to cut back on our aid. The UK should lead internationally as it has in the past, not stand apart.”
He added, “A pick-and-choose approach to international law undermines our global standing and offends against the principle of universality that is their increasingly threatened foundation.”
Rwanda Scheme Numbers Dependent on ‘Other Work’
Speaking on Wednesday to the Commons Home Affairs Committee, Home Secretary James Cleverly told MPs he was “unable to say how many” of the 33,085 identified illegal immigrants currently under surveillance by the Home Office would be sent to Kigali, attributing the uncertainty to the broader success in reducing small boat crossings.He emphasised that while the number could be “nearly at that figure,” it might also be significantly lower, depending on the effectiveness of other initiatives. “The number of people that we might send to Rwanda is entirely contingent on a whole set of other work that we’re doing,” Mr. Cleverly added.
Despite the uncertainty, Mr. Cleverly maintained that the scheme remains “uncapped,” though he refused to speculate on specific numbers, saying, “The answer is entirely dependent on other work we’re doing in parallel.”
The original vote in the Commons in mid-January found 320 MPs in favour of the Rwanda bill and 276 against. Former Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick had spearheaded a revolt by 61 Tory MPs, attempting to toughen the bill. However, a majority of rebels eventually signalled readiness to support it unaltered, fearing the ramifications of a government defeat so close to an imminent general election.
Speaking outside Downing Street the morning after, Mr. Sunak said: “It’s now time for the Lords to pass this bill. This is an urgent national priority. The treaty with Rwanda is signed and the legislation which deems Rwanda a safe country has been passed unamended in our elected chamber.
“There is now only one question. Will the opposition in the appointed House of Lords try and frustrate the will of the people as expressed by the elected House? Or will they get on board and do the right thing? It’s as simple as that.”
Tory Party Set to ‘Alienate’ Voterbase
Speaking at the time, Mr. Goodwin said: “Rishi Sunak and the Conservative Party have just passed a bill that will not work, will not provide an effective deterrent, and will only maintain the broken status quo.“The Conservative Party now looks set to further alienate the millions of ordinary people who took a punt on them by voting for lower immigration and control of Britain’s borders in 2019.”
