Rishi Sunak has been hit by a fresh headache on his flagship Rwanda bill, as senior Conservative on the left said they would join right-wing rebels in pushing the PM for changes ahead of an expected second vote in January.
The embattled PM believed he could count on the support of Tory MPs in the moderate “One Nation” wing, as he fights to appease their rivals on the right who are demanding tougher deportation legislation.
But, as No 10 prepares for crunch talks with the right-wingers over the Christmas break, senior Tory moderates told The Independent they are considering how to amend the bill in a bid to soften its impact.
Tobias Ellwood said he wanted to explore ways to stop the bill “clashing with international law”. Fellow moderate Sir Robert Buckland confirmed that he was also considering how it might be “tweaked” to make it comply with global treaties.
It comes as home secretary James Cleverly insisted that Tory rebels would not “kill the bill” in the new year – saying that the party was still “united” after the government survived a first hurdle vote in the Commons.
Despite the PM’s relief in winning through on Tuesday night, 29 mostly right-wing Tory rebels defied the whips by abstaining. They have warned that they reserved the right to “kill the bill” when it returns next year.
The One Nation caucus – which boasts around 100 MPs – agreed to back the bill – but its leading figures have stressed they will resist any amendments from the Tory right that risk the UK breaching the rule of law.
James Cleverly rejected the idea rebel Tories could ‘kill the bill’ in January
Damian Green, the One Nation wing’s chairman, said he hoped the “third reading would go through reasonably easily” so long as Mr Sunak and his team “stick to that [narrow] landing strip”.
However, Mr Ellwood said he wanted to explore “improving” the bill. The senior moderate – who abstained on Tuesday night – said he was concerned the plan “could see us clashing with international law”.
Mr Ellwood said he was uncomfortable with the push to stop the courts from having a say in deciding if Rwanda is safe, and giving ministers the power to overrule the Strasbourg court which oversees the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR).
“We all have to look in the mirror and decide what we believe in,” the former foreign affairs committee chief told The Independent. “We will have to look at how we might finesse those aspects [in the bill], so it fits in with international law.”
Sir Robert – the former justice secretary who is keen to avoid any breach of international law – suggested on LBC Radio that he would consider pushing to soften the bill.
“If anything, it probably should be tweaked in the other direction, and if it was, I would think there are numbers within the House of Commons… and certainly the House of Lords, to amend the bill to make it legally more workable.”
Warning Mr Sunak of the “battle” to come, Sir Robert suggested he could not back the bill if it was made more draconian. “I think there will be a problem from people like me, frankly,” he said. The ex-cabinet minister later confirmed he was considering amendments.
Former justice secretary Robert Buckland said there would be support for moderate ‘tweaks’ to the bill
On the other side, hardliner former home secretary Suella Braverman and her key ally ex-immigration minister Robert Jenrick, who quit last week, were among the high-profile Tories to abstain, despite being issued a three-line whip.
The 40 or so leading right-wing MPs who attended meetings of the “five families” with European Research Group (ERG) chairman Mark Francois on Tuesday were said to be evenly split between abstaining or voting against.
A Tory rebel source said: “This bill has been allowed to live another day. But without amendments it will be killed next month. It is now up to the government to decide what it wants to do.”
Mr Jenrick told reporters on Wednesday that he still “hopes” that he can persuade Mr Sunak to make significant changes to the Rwanda bill.
“The public expect us to secure our borders so I will always fight for that and I am pleased that it sounds as if there is a way forward where we can make the bill better,” said the hardliner, among those who abstained.
Some Tory right-wingers claim that the 29 abstentions underestimate the number of potential rebels, unhappy with the bill, who could vote it down at the showdown third reading stage.
Others think the Tory right is “all talk”, and that some who abstained will back the bill when it comes to the crunch. “This was the moment of maximum leverage for opponents of the bill and the government rightly told them to f*** off,” another senior Tory MP who backed the bill told the FT.
Sunak and his team are facing crucial talks over the Christmas break
Pressed on the push from the Tory right on the Rwanda bill, Mr Sunak’s official spokesman said: “We will have discussions with colleagues, we will listen to any suggestions on amendments.”
The PM’s spokesperson did not deny that Mr Sunak could hold meetings with Tory rebels over the Christmas break, saying only that “discussions will continue”. There was no clarity on the timetable for the bill in January – but No 10 insisted the bill remained “urgent”.
Put to him that the right-wingers would vote the bill down next year, Mr Cleverly told Sky News earlier: “I don’t agree.”
Asked about the objections of Mr Francois and other rebels, he said: “I will talk to Mark and I’ll talk to others … to understand their thinking on this and try to harvest their ideas to make things better.”
Sir Keir Starmer dubbed Mr Sunak a festive “donkey” as he used PMQs to mock Christmas party plans for the divided Tories. “They’ve obviously found the donkey for their nativity – the search for three wise men may take longer.”
The Labour leader also went on to ridicule the “five families” plotting on the Tory backbenches, saying Mr Sunak’s MPs are “swirling around… pretending to be members of the mafia”.
Sir Keir challenged Tory MPs who have anonymously criticised Mr Sunak in the press to identify themselves. “Who was it who said he’s a really bad politician? Hands up.”
Meanwhile, justice secretary Alex Chalk said any suggestions the Sunak government is behaving like a “dictatorship” with the bill are “a long way wide of the mark”.
SNP MP Joanna Cherry KC put to him that parliament would be “usurping part of the judicial function” during his appearance at the human rights committee. Mr Chalk replied: “I think suggestions of a dictatorship are a long way wide of the mark.”
Mr Ellwood warned Tory colleagues not to overstate the importance of the bill. “The Rwanda policy has been ramped up, where’s it become this totemic statement of success of migration. That’s unfortunate. We shouldn’t look sight of all the good things the prime minister has done in tackling [illegal] migration.”
Right-wing Tory MP Philip Davies warned that the party could be “sleepwalking” into a Starmer government, if the infighting on Rwanda continues. He urged the Tory factions to get behind Mr Sunak and “turn our guns [on Labour] rather than on ourselves”.
