Rishi Sunak scrapes through Rwanda vote but suffers major Tory rebellion
Rishi Sunak's emergency Rwanda Bill has scraped through the Commons as the embattled PM faced a major Tory rebellion.
MPs voted on Tuesday evening by 313 to 269 for the Government's Bill. But in a major revolt, 29 Conservative MPs failed to vote despite not having permission from whips to be absent. Rebels included former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, ex-Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick and former Tory chairman Sir Jake Berry.
Minutes before the vote dozens of right-wing Tory MPs said they would not support the PM's attempt to salvage the costly Rwanda scheme.
Mark Francois - the chair of the European Research Group (ERG) - said the "bulk" of them planned to abstain on the Bill on Tuesday evening. But the group threatened to vote against the "defective" legislation in the New Year if the government fails to accept major amendments.
Mr Francois added: "Harold Wilson once famously said a week is a long time in politics. Well a month is a very long time. So let's pick this up again in January. We will table amendments. We will take it from there."
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During Tuesday's debate David Jones, deputy chairman of the right-wing European Research Group (ERG) branded the legislation "inoperable and ineffective". He said: "The last thing we want to do as a House is to expend a lot of time and a lot of agony over putting in place a Bill that doesn't result in the flights to Rwanda."
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Danny Kruger, who heads the influential right-wing New Conservative group, told the Commons he had hoped Mr Sunak would withdraw it before the vote. He said: "I regret we've got an unsatisfactory bill. I can't undertake to support it tonight. I hoped the Government would undertake to pull the bill and allow us to work with them and colleagues across the House and produce a better bill."
Tory Natalie Elphicke, who represents Dover, said: "I want to stop the boats but I'm concerned that the current Bill won't do what the Government wants." Former Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick, who quit last week, told MPs: "This isn't a bad bill but it's not the best Bill. I want this Bill to work." And he continued: "This Bill could be so much better, let's make it better."
But Tory Bob Neil, who chairs the Commons Justice Committee, warned rebels against pushing for tougher laws. He said: "The day a Conservative Party thinks the ends justify the means, that any single policy objective overrides the checks and balances of our constitution, it has ceased to be a Conservative Party."
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper also lashed out at the "total mess", after it emerged the Government will have handed £290million to Rwanda by next year. She said: "If Rwanda is only going to take a few hundred people a year it's going to take them over 100 years to send the 15,000 people who have arrived since they passed the last law (the Illegal Migration Act). It will take them 10 years to send everyone who has arrived in the last fortnight alone."
There was also confusion over how much cash the UK is committed to give to Rwanda. Next year the Government will hand over £50million, and Ms Cooper demanded to know if the same sum will be paid in 2025 and 2026.
Mr Cleverly initially appeared to be confirming an additional £100million, saying: "Well, the honorable lady has asked me to confirm figures which we have put in the public domain." But his team and Home Office sources later said he was not confirming Ms Cooper's figures.
The Labour frontbencher repeatedly told MPs that the scheme is set to cost nearly £400million - up from the £290million already declared. She was not corrected in the House.
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