Parliament isn’t too far from the Port of Dover, but it feels as though it’s on another planet. While Tory ‘rebels’ again laid down their knives on Wednesday to back a bill designed to deter illegal migration, around 200 people crossed the English Channel in small boats in challenging conditions.
Rishi Sunak’s Safety of Rwanda Bill passed comfortably in the House of Commons last night, with just 11 Tory MPs voting against, despite many more complaining that it is nowhere near tough enough. The bill, which will now be sent to the House of Lords for further scrutiny, is designed to overturn legal objections to sending illegal migrants to Rwanda for processing by declaring the African nation “safe.” The government succeeded in fighting down amendments which would have made it more difficult for future deportations to be blocked in the courts.
This is a definite victory for the prime minister and should stave off talk on the need for new Tory leadership, for now. But it is unlikely to have any real impact on the continuing Channel crisis, which Migration Watch UK Chairman Alp Mehmet, told The European Conservative will carry on regardless.
A timely reminder of this came yesterday when at least five boats carrying 200 migrants crossed the Channel. The deaths of five migrants on Sunday also served as a reminder of just how serious the failure to deter crossings has been.
There was a brief pause in crossings over the Christmas period, which Sunak was quick to claim credit for. But now they are returning to full flow, it is clear this was simply a result of extremely bad weather conditions, as was suggested at the time. Officials believe that as many as 50,000 migrants could make the dangerous journey this year, which would be a record high.
Again and again, illegal migrants have made it clear they view deportation to Rwanda as nothing more than a “far-fetched threat,” regardless of the actions in Westminster. One young man waiting in France this week told The Times that Rwanda was a “b******t plan.” Another said it “makes no difference to me. I will come to the UK” anyway. But the government is celebrating while it can, describing the Commons vote as “a major step in our plan to stop the boats.”
