UK’s Rishi Sunak dealt blow by Conservative rebellion over Rwanda asylum plan
- Two of his party’s deputy chairmen are quitting their posts amid calls for the PM to toughen the scheme to send migrants on a one-way trip to the African nation
- Some Conservatives could vote against the bill on Wednesday, potentially killing the legislation and badly damaging Sunak’s authority
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak suffered a substantial rebellion by Conservative Party lawmakers on Tuesday over his stalled plan to send asylum seekers on a one-way trip to Rwanda, in a blow both to the policy and to his authority over the fractious governing party.
Sunak has made the controversial – and expensive – immigration policy central to his attempt to win an election this year.
To do that he needs to unite the Conservatives, who trail far behind the Labour opposition in opinion polls.
But the liberal and authoritarian wings of the Conservatives – always uneasy allies – are at loggerheads over the Rwanda plan. Moderates worry the policy is too extreme, while many on the party’s powerful right wing think it would not go far enough in deterring migration to the UK.
Two of the party’s deputy chairmen joined calls to toughen up the government’s flagship Safety of Rwanda Bill in the House of Commons. Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith announced they were quitting their posts on Tuesday to back amendments seeking to shut down asylum seekers’ avenues of appeal against deportation to Rwanda by closing loopholes and sidelining judges.