The Conservative Party’s squabbling over the ‘Rwanda Plan’ to send illegal migrations for processing in the African nation will come to a head Tuesday in an afternoon vote that some say could bring down Rishi Sunak’s government.
MPs will vote on a bill which Sunak’s government has designed to address the Supreme Court’s ruling that the scheme is unlawful. One group of Tories—the so-called ‘hardliners’—say the legislation does not go far enough. But another—from the ‘more’ liberal side—says it will only support the bill in its current form and will pull its support if the prime minister moves to woo the ‘Right.’
On Monday, while Sunak—in an instance of seriously unfortunate timing—faced questions on his time as chancellor during lockdown, the rest of Downing Street went about trying to quash an expected rebellion. The Guardian described this as “a day of frenetic activity in Westminster reminiscent of Brexit fights from 2017-2019” which led to the resignation of then Prime Minister Theresa May.
One source close to the talks told the paper that the government’s attempts to drum up support for its bill have been “belated, panicked and intense.”
Stressing the significance of tonight’s vote, The Times added that “whether he likes it or not, Sunak’s future is now wedded to the success or failure of the Rwanda migration scheme.”
He will therefore be distressed, though possibly not surprised, to see that a breakfast held with the ‘hardliners’ at Number 10 this morning “failed to change minds,” as sources told The Daily Telegraph.
One slightly more positive source told the paper that this breakfast might have been “frosty” but it was a “very useful meeting to hear MPs thoughts and discuss their concerns.” Another reported that “views seem to be hardening and more people are planning to vote against rather than abstain.” That said, the source added: “Many will wait to decide later in the day.” The vote will take place at around 7pm.
