In a crucial test of his power, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is facing a serious mutiny on Tuesday from right-wing lawmakers in his party over landmark immigration legislation to expedite the repatriation of asylum seekers to Rwanda.
Before parliamentary votes on the plan on Tuesday and Wednesday, two chairmen of the Conservative Party declared that they were prepared to vote to toughen the law in defiance of Sunak’s decision to join the revolt.
The measure, which attempts to prevent asylum seekers from filing additional legal challenges against their deportations, has caused profound division within Sunak’s party. It is said to go too far by some Conservative legislators and not far enough by others.
Unless the legislation is changed, some Conservatives are threatening to vote against the government at its final parliamentary stage in the House of Commons, the lower house of parliament, which could take place on Wednesday evening.
One senior lawmaker said the rebels had the numbers to defeat Sunak in the final vote.
“There is zero purpose in putting in place a piece of legislation that doesn’t work,” he said, adding that the rebels only needed half of those who backed the amendments to defeat against the government in the final vote.
Sunak has made stopping the arrival of asylum seekers crossing from France to Britain on small boats a central aim of his government.
Most of those arriving in the boats say they are fleeing wars and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. But the British government says about 90% making the journey are men and many of them economic migrants rather than genuine refugees.
“DIVIDED PARTIES FAIL”
Sunak faced the most serious threat to his leadership last month when he saw off a threatened revolt by dozens of his lawmakers at the first parliamentary vote on the draft legislation.
The government comfortably won that vote after some lawmakers decided to abstain rather than rebel, but some warned that they could vote down the legislation at later stages of the parliamentary process unless the bill was changed.
More than 60 Conservative members of parliament are planning to back the amendments that would allow ministers to ignore last-minute rulings from judges at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg seeking to ground flights to Rwanda.
A similar number also support another amendment that would stop asylum seekers from bringing individual claims to prevent their removal to the East African nation.
Isaac Levido, the Conservative Party’s election strategist, told lawmakers at a closed-doors meeting late on Monday that the party faced defeat at this year’s national election unless they ended their infighting.
“Let me clear. Divided parties fail,” Levido said, according to a Conservative official.
Conservative Party Deputy Chairmen Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith said they would vote to toughen the legislation.
Asked if this means he would be sacked, Brendan Clarke-Smith said: “It is not for me to decide.”
