The prime minister has called on the Lords to “do the right thing” after staving off opposition from rebel MPs to pass the third reading of the Safety of Rwanda Bill, as a prominent analyst claims the bill “will not work.”
The vote in the Commons on Wednesday evening revealed 320 MPs in favour of the bill and 276 against.
Former immigration minister Robert Jenrick led a revolt earlier on Wednesday 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.
Prominent pollster and analyst Matt Goodwin told The Epoch Times: “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.”
Sunak Asks Lords to Pass The Bill
Speaking outside Downing Street this morning, 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.”
Sacked home secretary Suella Braverman voted against the bill, highlighting potential legal challenges.
Ms. Braverman tweeted, “The Rwanda bill will not stop the boats. It leaves us exposed to litigation and the Strasbourg Court. I engaged with the Government to fix it but no changes were made. I could not vote for yet another law destined to fail. The British people deserve honesty and so I voted against.”
Despite supporting the bill in the vote, Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg expressed scepticism about its implementation, anticipating delays due to legal appeals.
Sir Jacob said: “I don’t think it will work speedily because I think we will have more appeals. If you are talking about between now and a general election, I think it is unlikely we will see flights going before an election. If flights go, it will stop the boats. But as I don’t think flights will go, I think it will be very difficult to stop the boats without the strengthening that I was supporting.”
Tice Criticises Tory Retreat
Reform UK leader Richard Tice criticised the Tory rebel’s retreat, telling The Epoch Times: “Gutless spineless Tories huffed and puffed then bottled it. Rwanda is a waste of time and money; it is not a deterrent. Only Reform UK will stop the boats by our pick up and take back to France strategy.”David Campbell Bannerman, the former Tory MEP and chairman of the Conservative Democratic organisation, told The Epoch Times: “Ignoring top legal advice from Sir Bill Cash, who used to advise the Queen, and recent ex Ministers Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick on amendments will prove to have been folly. As a result the bill won’t work and Sunak will be in greater danger.”
Adding that polling for the Tories could “hardly be much worse,” Mr. Campbell Bannerman, an ally of Boris Johnson, who publicly backed the Tory rebels, suggested that it may be time for the party to consider a change of leadership.
Yesterday, Labour MP Jess Phillips raised concerns about the bill’s undisclosed costs, questioning its value given previous failures, stating, “Considering the amount of time spent wasting taxpayers’ money on something that hasn’t worked the last two times we tried, and won’t work this time, people should frankly be ashamed of themselves for voting when they don’t have any idea how much it’ll cost their constituencies.”
Critical MPs, including co-chair of the hardline New Conservatives group, Danny Kruger, voiced scepticism about the bill’s efficacy and legal soundness. A total of 11 Tory MPs voted against the bill, including Sir Bill Cash, Ms. Braverman, Mr. Jenrick, Mr. Kruger and Miriam Cates.
There were also a number of notable abstentions, including Lee Anderson, the former deputy party chairman.
The proposed legislation, costing around £290 million, aims to redirect illegal migrants crossing the Channel to Rwanda, backed by a recent treaty with Kigali to address legal challenges following a Supreme Court ruling against the policy last year.
Despite the bill’s passage, no asylum seekers arriving via unauthorised routes have been relocated, with legal hurdles persisting.
