Rishi Sunak’s Safety of Rwanda Bill has passed through the House of Commons after the Prime Minister faced down dozens of Tory MPs over his flagship illegal immigration policy.
MPs voted by 320 to 276 to support Sunak’s proposed legislation in its third reading.
The Prime Minister’s 44-majority victory came at a price, with 11 Tory MPs voting against Sunak’s plan.
Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman and ex-Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick voted against the Safety of Rwanda Bill.
Rishi Sunak
PA
Sir Bill Cash, Miriam Cates, Sir Simon Clarke, Sarah Dines, Sir James Duddridge, Mark Francois, Andrea Jenkyns, David Jones and Danny Kruger also opposed the unamended legislation.
Another 18 Tory MPs abstained on the third reading vote, including ex-deputy chairman Lee Anderson and Common Sense Group leader Sir John Hayes.
Tory rebels yesterday also unsuccessfully tabled four amendments looking to create less wriggle room for individual appeals and prevent interference from the European Court of Human Rights.
Fifty-eight Conservative MPs backed the “notwithstanding” amendment put forward by Cash, with the Democratic Unionist Party also putting pressure on the Prime Minister to toughen up the legislation.
Jenrick also struggled to obtain support for his three amendments.
The Newark MP, who resigned as Sunak’s Immigration Minister over the Prime Minister’s revised Rwanda policy in December, was hoping to remove the ability for asylum seekers to block their own removal through suspensive claims, more completely exclude the Human Rights Act from the legislation and prevent so-called “pyjama injunctions”.
Home Secretary James Cleverly issued one last rallying cry to Tory MPs ahead of tonight’s vote.
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The Braintree MP, who voiced “respect” for the rebels, said: “The Prime Minister, the Government and I have been clear that we will do whatever it takes to stop the boats and we have of course been making progress on that pledge, reducing small boat arrivals by over a third last year.
“But to stop the boats completely we need to deter people from making these dangerous journeys, from risking their lives and from lining the pockets of evil criminal people smuggling gangs.
“The new legally binding treaty with the government of the Republic of Rwanda responds directly to the Supreme Court’s concerns, reflecting the strength of the Government of Rwanda’s protection and commitments.”
However, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper criticised Sunak’s policy.
Responding to Cleverly, Cooper said: “The Home Secretary is wandering naked around this chamber waving a little treaty as a fig leaf to hide his modesty behind. I admit he doesn’t have much modesty to hide.”
She added: “The only thing the Tories all seem to agree on is that the scheme is failing. The Prime Minister is failing and they know it.”
Sunak was keen to reassure potential Tory rebels about the Safety of Rwanda Bill ahead of its return to the House of Commons.
Speaking to GB News from Leigh-on-Sea in Essex yesterday, the Prime Minister said: “I won’t let a foreign court stop us from getting flights off and this deterrent working.
“There’s a clause in the Bill that says, very specifically, that it is for ministers to decide whether to comply with Rule 39 rulings as they’re called, I would not have put that clause in the Bill if I was not prepared to use it.
“Now look I don’t think Strasbourg will intervene because of the checks and balances in our system.
“And of course, there will be individual circumstances that people want us to consider on the facts.
“But if you’re asking me you know, are there circumstances in which I’m prepared to ignore those Rule 39s? Then yes, of course there are.”
Sunak’s efforts won over a large number of Tory rebels who supported amendments tabled by Cash and Jenrick yesterday.
Jane Stevenson, who resigned as parliamentary private secretary in the Department for Business & Trade to support the rebels’ amendments, was among those who voted for the Safety of Rwanda Bill at its third reading.
Former Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg and ex-deputy chairman Brendan Clarke-Smith also supported the proposed legislation.
A rebel source told GB News: “People in the room have decided to back the third reading and a small number of colleagues will vote against out of principle.”
However, the Prime Minister was unable to call on the support of a number of high-profile Conservative MPs associated with the so-called “five families”.
Ahead of the vote, Braverman told MPs: “This is our last chance to fix this problem. We have stretched the patience of the British people. But this comes down to a very simple but profound question ultimately of who governs Britain?”
Jenrick added: “I don’t believe that our membership of the European Convention on Human Rights is sustainable.
“I think that will become clearer and clearer to the British public in the months and the years ahead, but that’s not the purpose of my amendment today.”
Responding to the Prime Minister’s initial overtures, an ERG source said at the time: “He can’t overrule Strasbourg judges without our amendments. It is as simple as that!”
