Rishi Sunak faces a collapse in his Conservative party over the Rwanda expulsion bill after two of its deputy leaders said they would support the rebels' amendments aimed at blocking international human rights law.
Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith rebelled against the Prime Minister in supporting a right-wing challenge to the bill, which will be debated in Parliament on Tuesday. They will join as many as 70 other MPs who are said to be considering abstaining from or opposing the controversial bill.
The high-profile rebellion of two Red Wall MPs on Monday evening will be seen as a direct threat to Mr Sunak's authority. The Prime Minister will now have to consider removing them from party positions.
The move comes as Mr Sunak sought to limit the damage to the security of the Rwanda Bill by threatening to ignore an injunction from the European Court of Human Rights blocking deportation flights to Rwanda.
Mr Anderson, who was appointed to the Ashfield council in February last year, confirmed he would take part in a potential rebellion. He said he would vote for amendments put forward by Robert Jenrick, who resigned as immigration minister over the bill, and veteran Conservative Lord Bill Cash.
“Rwanda bill. I signed the Cash & Jenrick amendment. I'm going to vote for them,” he wrote about X. Bassetlaw MP Clark Smith also confirmed he intended to vote for the Rebel amendment. Asked if he would be sacked, he replied: “We'll see.” It's not for me to decide. ”
They were joined by Jane Stephenson, parliamentary secretary for the Department of Industry and Trade, who also told the New Conservative Party meeting that she supported the amendment.
Simon Clarke, a Conservative MP and close ally of Liz Truss, told the News Agents Podcast that he “doesn't believe the Rwanda Bill will work” and “will vote against it as it stands”. He said and added: Don't let the British people march up that hill again. ”
Another Conservative MP called for more rebels to back an amendment to remove Mr Sunak from office. Andrea Jenkins, a former deputy secretary who was sacked from the government by Mr Sunak, wrote of X: ”
Government insiders still believe the bill will pass committee stage without amendments on Tuesday, but Wednesday's crucial third reading vote could be decided by just 29 Tory MPs revolting or 57 If a person abstains, the bill will be rejected, making the issue even more difficult.
One hardline source said Downing Street described the party's rights as a exhausted force. “No. 10 believes that the rebels are 'Paper Tigers' and have no intention of voting against it,” the source said.
A leading traditionalist said he was surprised there had been no movement from number 10. “As far as I know, there have been few, if any, attempts to reach out,” they said. “I think they underestimate the anger of backbenchers.”
Mr Sunak, Home Secretary James Cleverley and government aides spoke at a meeting with Conservative MPs who believe the bill is riddled with loopholes and needs to be strengthened to support it. It has been several weeks since we narrowly avoided a rebellion.
In a last-ditch attempt to win rights for his party, Mr Sunak tightened his voice on Regulation 39, the European Court of Human Rights' so-called “pajama injunction”. Asked directly if he intended to overturn the Strasbourg judges' decision, Mr Sunak told GB News: “We will not allow foreign courts to prevent us from operating our aircraft and preventing this deterrent from working.”
“There is a clause in the Bill that very specifically says it is for the Minister to decide whether to comply with the so-called Rule 39 ruling. We would not have put that clause in the Bill if we were not ready to use it. It would have been.
“Look, we have checks and balances in our system, so I don't think Strasbourg will intervene. And of course there will also be individual circumstances that people want us to consider factually. .
“But if you're asking me, are there any situations where I would be prepared to ignore these rule 39? Then yes, of course there are.”
In a further concession to the Conservative right, No. 10 told MPs that Michael Tomlinson, the minister for illegal immigration, would be appointed to handle any adjudication of ground flights from Strasbourg.
Mr Sunak's aides hope that handing responsibility to the former deputy chair of the hard-line European Research Group will allay concerns on the right that the Rule 39 injunction will be automatically complied with. ing.
The Prime Minister's room for maneuver has been further restricted by threats from the One Nation bloc, which is made up of more than 100 moderate MPs, and if he accepts the right-wing amendments, the bill will be beyond the reach of the Attorney General. It warns that it may violate international law, which is a red line. , Victoria Prentice, and Attorney General Alex Chalk.
One former minister said: “If there is any agreement with the right wing on amendments to the bill, there will be problems. If there is nonsense in it, we will vote against it on third reading.”
But they added: “The whip does not suggest that we are entering the realm of a vote of confidence in the prime minister. But if the prime minister is in danger, then someone like me will probably have to do the same thing as last time. I would do that and let it pass.
“It won’t be passionate, but we recognize that broader politics are at play and this is an election year.”
Mr Sunak rejected a hardline and “complete” version of the Rwanda bill put forward by former home secretary Suela Braverman, Mr Jenrick and the so-called “Five Families” of the Conservative right-wing parliamentary group.
That would have blocked all provisions of human rights law, allowed ministers to ignore the European Convention on Human Rights, and denied asylum-seekers the opportunity to challenge their deportation.
Mr Sunak does not want to pursue this option as he believes it would be a breach of the UK's legal obligations under the ECHR.
