Sunak was victorious against the Tory rebels
Despite criticism within his own party, a majority in parliament voted for the Prime Minister's asylum law. Migrants who entered the country irregularly will be deported to Rwanda.
Conservative British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak got his controversial asylum plans through the House of Commons despite opposition within his own ranks.
Photo: Maria Unger (AFP)
Eventually, things turned out well for Rishi Sunak. The conservative British prime minister has managed to fend off a right-wing Tory factional revolt against his controversial asylum law. On Wednesday evening, 320 members of the lower house voted in favor of the government's plan, while 276 spoke against it.
Hours before the vote, around 60 Tory rebels threatened to vote against the legislation because, in their view, it was too lax. 27 votes against would have been enough to defeat the law. But it never got to that point.
The British House of Lords must now ratify the legislation. However, there is strong opposition as the government's plan violates international norms for refugee protection.
Many Tories resigned in protest
Through the so-called Rwanda law, the government wants to deport irregular migrants to Rwanda without examining their asylum application and regardless of their origin. They must apply for asylum there and are not allowed to return to Great Britain. For this to work, Rwanda must be legally declared a safe third country. A further judicial review citing human rights in Great Britain should be rejected.
The outrage of human rights organizations was not enough for many right-wing Tories. They also demanded that appeals to international courts should be barred and that there should be no loopholes. Former Secretary of State for Migration and Sunak's confidant, Robert Jenrick, has even spoken out in favor of withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights. On Tuesday, the Tories' deputy party leaders, Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith, resigned in protest at Sunak's proposed legislation.
Chung made a number of concessions to appeal to Tory right-wing critics. This includes a commitment to publish guidance explaining that civil servants will not be in breach of civil service law if ministers breach European Court of Human Rights orders barring the extradition of an asylum seeker to Rwanda. Justice Minister Alex Sack has also promised to staff the courts to speed up asylum decisions. Judges' associations, however, are skeptical that this will succeed.
Labor is leading in the polls
The migration controversy has long become one of the defining issues in the growing election campaign. The Tories want to close the gap to Labor with a decidedly hard line. The Conservatives are still 20 percentage points behind the main opposition party in the vote. It is not yet clear when the elections will be held this year. At Westminster, this is expected to happen in November, after the US presidential election.
It is uncertain whether deportation flights to Rwanda will begin by then. A spokesperson for Sunak confirmed on Wednesday that the first flights to Kigali are still planned to take off in the spring. However, Rwanda's President Paul Kagame said on Wednesday there were limits to how long his country would have to wait for flights carrying migrants from the United Kingdom. “If they don't come, we can return the money,” he said.
A Rwandan government spokesperson said that under the agreement, Rwanda is not obligated to repay money already paid in the agreement. London has so far transferred £240m to Kigali for the deportation programme.
According to media reports, 85 percent of the 5,000 Rwandans are said to have gone into hiding. Labor leader Keir Starmer to Prime Minister Sunak: “I'll tell you where they don't belong: in Rwanda.”
Photo: Jessica Taylor (AFP)
One of the biggest critics of the agreement between Great Britain and Rwanda is the UN Refugee Agency. In his opinion, the British proposed law violates international obligations to protect refugees. It is also a violation of separation of powers for the government to seek to override court decisions through legislation. And it is fundamentally unacceptable that asylum seekers have no legal recourse within the UK.
During the weekly Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Sunak was asked about the disappearance of asylum seekers who were to be deported to Rwanda. According to media reports, 85 percent of the total 5,000 people have gone missing. Labor leader Keir Starmer asked Sunak: “Where are they? He had no idea where they were, did he? Let me tell you where they are not: in Rwanda.”
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