Rishi Sunak faces new Rwanda revolt from Tory left in fresh party turmoil - live

Moderates say they could join right-wing MPs in pushing PM to change migrants deportation bill

Rishi Sunak wins Rwanda vote despite Tory rebellion

Rishi Sunak has been hit by a fresh headache on his flagship Rwanda bill, as senior Conservatives on the left said they would join right-wing rebels in pushing for changes ahead of an expected second vote in January.

The embattled PM had believed he could count on Tory MPs in the moderate “One Nation” wing, as he fights to appease their rivals on the right who are demanding tougher deportation legislation.

Justice Secretary Alex Chalk suggested the government would not cede to right-wingers by toughening up the bill, despite their threats to vote it down.

But, as No 10 prepares for crunch talks with the right-wingers over Christmas, senior Tory moderates told The Independent they were considering how to amend the bill to soften it.

Earlier, Sir Keir Starmer mocked Tory MPs who criticised Rishi Sunak in the press in PMQs.

The Labour leader goaded the Tory benches, saying: “Come on, come on. Who was it who said he’s a really bad politician? Hands up.”

Meanwhile, Mark Drakeford announced he was standing down as Welsh Labour leader, triggering a contest to find his successor.

Key Points

• Starmer mocks unity of Tory party at PMQs
• Mark Drakeford to stand down as Labour first minister of Wales
• Sunak’s popularity hits new low, poll suggests
• Home secretary denies Rwanda Bill will be killed next year
• Sunak faces new year showdown with Tories over Rwanda policy after Commons win
• Is it time the Rwanda scheme was scrapped? Join the Independent Debate

[13 December 2023 07:36 · Maryam Zakir-Hussain]

Sunak seen hugging chief whip in relief

Rishi Sunak was spotted hugging Simon Hart, the Tories’ chief whip, after the result of the Rwanda vote was read out.

The PM said: “The British people should decide who gets to come to this country, not criminal gangs or foreign courts. That’s what this bill delivers. We will now work to make it law so that we can get flights going to Rwanda and stop the boats.”

(REUTERS)

[13 December 2023 07:18 · Maryam Zakir-Hussain]

Sunak faces new year showdown with Tories over Rwanda policy after Commons win

Rishi Sunak faces a new year showdown over his Rwanda deportation policy after right-wing Conservative MPs said they could vote emergency legislation down if it is not tightened.

The Prime Minister on Tuesday won a crunch vote on the Safety of Rwanda Bill after spending the day in talks with potential rebels to avoid a defeat on his flagship “stop the boats” pledge.

The efforts to bring people on side worked, with MPs approving the Bill at second reading by 313 votes to 269, giving the UK Government a winning majority of 44.

[13 December 2023 07:00 · Tara Cobham]

Illegal migration minister commits to work with Jenrick on ‘need for legal certainty’ on Rwanda plan

Illegal migration minister Michael Tomlinson has committed to working with Robert Jenrick on “the need for legal certainty” on the Government’s Rwanda plan.

Addressing the Conservative former immigration minister, Mr Tomlinson said he was “sorry” to see Mr Jenrick resign and added: “It is right to say, and I agree with him, that there is a disagreement between us, but it is a good faith disagreement, he was right when he said that and I agree with him.

“I agree with his point about the need for legal certainty and I commit to working with him on that very point.”

Asked elsewhere in his remarks for his view of how many people will be deported to Rwanda next year, Mr Tomlinson said: “It will start off in the hundreds and it will scale up to the thousands.”

Conservative MP Sir Bill Cash (Stone) asked: “Will (Mr Tomlinson) seek a ruling from Mr Speaker that the long title and the scope of the Bill will or may be amended to ensure that amendments may be moved and selected, at least by the Government, and even by backbenchers, as on previous occasions?”

Mr Tomlinson said: “I will continue to work with him on this. I will come back to his specific point and I will come back and address I hope his very concern.”

[13 December 2023 06:00 · Tara Cobham]

Is it time the Rwanda scheme was scrapped? Join the Independent Debate

The Prime Minister has successfully defused a Tory revolt, following a crunch vote on his flagship migration policy.

The government’s new Rwanda bill would order British judges and courts to ignore some sections of the UK Human Rights Act to allow for the deportation of asylum seekers to the African country.

Under the plan, asylum seekers that arrive in Britain will be sent to Rwanda for processing where they could either be granted refugee status or allowed to stay.

Find out more here:

[13 December 2023 05:00 · Tara Cobham]

Watch the moment Sunak wins Rwanda vote despite right-wing Tory rebellion

There were loud shouts of “aye” after Rishi Sunak’s Safety of Rwanda Bill passed its second reading on Tuesday, 12 December, in the House of Commons.

The prime minister’s new planned legislation would deem Rwanda safe in British law after the original bill was struck down as unlawful by the Supreme Court.

MPs approved the Safety of Rwanda Bill at its second reading by 313 votes to 269, majority 44.

Mr Sunak’s win came after five separate groups of right-wing Conservative MPs decided they could not support the Safety of Rwanda Bill at its second reading.

Holly Patrick reports:

[13 December 2023 04:00 · Tara Cobham]

Rishi Sunak wins Rwanda vote as he staves off mass Tory rebellion – for now

A wounded Rishi Sunak has secured victory in a crunch vote on his flagship Rwanda policy – but his political future remains under threat ahead of a new year showdown on the issue.

The prime minister faces another battle with his MPs within weeks after parliament backed his emergency legislation by 313 votes to 269.

As he fought to keep his controversial deportation scheme alive, Mr Sunak even flew a minister back from the Cop28 climate change conference in Dubai to vote.

Kate Devlin and Archie Mitchell report:

[13 December 2023 03:00 · Tara Cobham]

In pictures: MPs approve Rwanda Bill

MPs have approved the Safety of Rwanda Bill at second reading by 313 votes to 269, majority 44, in the House of Commons (PA)

Deputy Speaker Dame Rosie Winterton reads out the Rwanda bill vote result (PA)

MPs have approved the Safety of Rwanda Bill at second reading by 313 votes to 269, majority 44, in the House of Commons (PA)

[13 December 2023 02:00 · Tara Cobham]

Yvette Cooper calls for cross-party agreement on border enforcement

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper called for a cross-party agreement on border enforcement.

Speaking after the Rwanda vote, she said: “We need both stronger border security and stronger action to fix the Tories’ asylum chaos that has got worse and worse over the last few years.

“We’ve seen, really, over the last few days the Tory Party civil war erupting, with different groups taking different lumps out of each other, and that chaos looks like it’s going to continue into the New Year as well.”

She said Labour will set up a new “returns unit” to remove people who do not have a right to be in the UK and stated the Tories had presided over a 50% drop in such returns.

Ms Cooper also set out plans to create an international security agreement to share information on people-smuggling networks.

She said: “We ought to have a cross-party agreement on some of these basic things like going after the gangs, clearing the backlog, and getting returns in place, getting proper enforcement in place, but they’re not capable of doing that because they’re too busy taking lumps out of each other – because they are more interested in their civil war than they are in actually tackling the problems, and in actually doing a fair deal for the country.”

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper speaking in the Commons’ crunch debate on Rwanda bill earlier on Tuesday (Reuters)

[13 December 2023 01:00 · Tara Cobham]

Duncan Smith says he could always rescind backing after supporting bill

Despite voting to support the Bill, former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said he could always rescind his backing at a later date.

He said: “We always reserve the right to do what we have to do when we think it doesn’t work, my personal view is I want to see the Government listen and engage.

“Right now this was a very difficult Bill to get through, very contentious, it was the toughest bit of legislation concerning people’s rights, in terms of asylum seekers, that we’ve seen, and that’s because the crisis is big and many people are dying in the channel.

“It’s happening all over Europe – France is in defiance of the European court, sending people back.

“Denmark passed legislation to send people back, Sweden is doing the same, Germany is in turmoil, Italy is talking about defying the court – this is not just the UK.

“It’s part of the problem that all around Europe we’re facing, so this is the issue here on our island and we have to resolve it, otherwise it creates chaos.”

He said there were divisions in the Conservative Party: “Of course [there are divisions], but these divisions are about big issues and I think what the public want is a result at the end of this.

“They want something done – we made a pledge, Rishi Sunak made a pledge, to stop the boats, and we want to deliver it.”

Asked about Robert Jenrick resigning because he believed it it would not stop the boats, he said: “Well if you have five lawyers, you have 55 opinions.”

He added: “The Supreme Court made it very clear, they said once the Parliament makes clear their position in this then they will fall in line.”

Despite voting to support the Bill, former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said he could always rescind his backing at a later date (PA Archive)

[13 December 2023 00:00 · Tara Cobham]

Former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith says he voted to support bill

Former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said he voted to support the Rwanda Bill.

Speaking after the vote, he said the Bill was the “toughest” legislation on people’s rights to date.

He said: “I felt, first and foremost, we need to take this Bill through to further discussions and debate, and I think it’s considerably better than what was there before – it gives us a chance to see if we can get those flights off the ground and make sure we disincentivise the whole idea of those who have to pay under that terrible murderous business.

“We’re seeing whether or not there will be elements that can be tightened up.

“There are debates around here about certain clauses, where there may there be open possibilities for people to make continuous vexations claims.

“So, we need to look about whether it is feasible to tighten those places up, and there are some other bits about reference to Europe.

“I think the important things here is that colleagues want to try and get this through, so that we can get this flights off the ground and the Rwanda policy can act as a deterrent.”