Lord Frost has issued a veiled call to action, seeming to suggest the Conservative Party should replace Rishi Sunak.
In an opinion piece published this week, the former chief Brexit negotiator said that Tory MPs “have a responsibility” to weigh up whether or not they think the “current path” can take the party to an election.
He added: “If they don’t, they shouldn’t be resigning themselves to it – they should be doing something about it.”
The same article, published in the Telegraph, saw him criticise Sunak’s administration for a “failure to show love to many of its MPs”, adding: “As Suella Braverman said on Wednesday, the party is facing electoral oblivion”.
WATCH: James Cleverly unveils new treaty with Rwanda
The Conservative peer continued: “In truth, this has been the case for some time.
“As I keep saying, nearly two-thirds of our 2019 voters say they won’t be voting for us. That, not enthusiasm for Sir Keir Starmer, is why Labour is ahead.
“For those voters, immigration is the top issue. They have heard much from us on this subject but seen no delivery.
“That’s why it matters that, in my personal view – I await the definitive verdict of the European Research Group’s Star Chamber – this week’s Rwanda Bill falls short.”
Not a single migrant has yet been sent to Rwanda since the beleaguered scheme was launched.
The Government unveiled new legislation to address the concerns of the Supreme Court after it ruled the scheme illegal in November.
But just last night it was revealed that Rishi Sunak has been told by Government lawyers that his new plan will be “seriously impeded” from working because it “provides an easy way” for migrants to avoid deportation.
This comes despite Sunak telling hte public at an emergency press conference yesterday that he is confident the scheme will work, promising to “finish the job” before an election.
Two senior lawyers told the Government the scheme risks failure, as it allows for individuals to bring legal challenges against it, sources told the Times.
And separate external legal advice, sought by the Government, warned that the failure to exclude individual challenges “is inconsistent with the intellectual underpinning of the bill and also would provide an easy way for many applicants to avoid the effects of the bill”.
A source close to former Home Secretary Suella Braverman warned that the legislation will allow “every single illegal migrant to make individual human rights claims”, saying it is a “further betrayal of Tory voters”.
The source said: “This bill doesn’t come close to meeting Suella’s tests.
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“The PM has kept the ability for every single illegal migrant to make individual human rights claims against their removal and to then appeal those claims if they don’t succeed. It is fatally flawed.
“It will be bogged down in the courts for months…. It won’t stop the boats.
“It is a further betrayal of Tory voters and the decent patriotic majority who want to see this insanity brought to an end.”