UK Politics

Rishi Sunak should ‘pull the Rwanda bill’ now, says Tory right-wingerSign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has been warned the Conservatives “could be out of power forever” as the crunch debate on his Rwanda bill begins.Speaking to Times Radio, former Tory leader Lord William Hague said that MPs “picking holes” in the prime minister’s plan rather than uniting ahead of the key vote tonight “have only got opposition to look forward to”.Home Secretary James Cleverly opened the Commons debate on the bill, which would designate Rwanda as a safe country for asylum seekers and be voted on at 7pm.The bid for Mr Sunak’s latest plan to “stop the boats” comes as it was confirmed that an asylum seeker died on the Bibby Stockholm barge, the accommodation used by the government to house migrants.The prime minister is facing a potential rebellion from warring factions of his party over the bill and hosted an emergency breakfast in Downing Street with rebels in an attempt to convince them to vote for the bill.Right-wing Conservatives are set to hold a joint meeting tonight to discuss the vote – but there is an increasing belief among Tory rebels that Mr Sunak’s bill will be successful.Show latest update
1702392707Rebels warned of ‘consequences’ if they vote against Rishi Sunak’s planTory rebels have been warned not to vote against Rishi Sunak’s deal or there will be “consequences”, it has emerged. Those considering opposing the PM’s plan could lose the Conservative Party whip, The Sun’s political editor Harry Cole reported.Archie Mitchell, Political Correspondent12 December 2023 14:511702392660Watch: Cleverly promises investigation after asylum seeker dies on Bibby StockholmCleverly promises investigation after asylum seeker dies on Bibby StockholmTara Cobham12 December 2023 14:511702392565Jenrick: ‘The test of this policy is, “Will it work?”’Conservative former immigration minister Robert Jenrick told the Commons: “This is not a bad Bill but it is not the best Bill. I want this Bill to work.“The test of this policy is not ‘is it the strongest Bill we’ve done?’, it’s not ‘is it a good compromise?’, it’s ‘will it work?’.“That is all the public care about. They don’t care about Rwanda as a scheme, they care about stopping the boats. And we are sent here to do that for them.“I will never elevate contested notions of international law over the interests of my constituents, over vital national interests like national security, like border security.“This Bill could be so much better, let’s make it better. Let’s make it work.”Tara Cobham12 December 2023 14:491702392260Cleverly promises investigation after asylum seeker dies on Bibby StockholmThe home secretary told MPs in the House of Commons: “Tragically, there has been (a) death on the Bibby Stockholm barge. I’m sure that the thoughts of the whole House, like mine, are with those affected.“The House will understand that at this stage I am uncomfortable getting into any more details. But we will of course investigate fully.”Dorset Police said they received a report of a sudden death of a resident on the Bibby Stockholm at 6:22am.Rhys Jones reports: More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailSir Keir Starmer has lashed out at Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives, claiming they behave like Donald Trump.The Labour leader launched a blistering attack on the Tories to mark the fourth anniversary of his own party’s electoral wipeout under Jeremy Corbyn.In a pitch to disaffected Conservative voters, he laid out the “complete overhaul” Labour has undergone since 2019. And he said the Tories under Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and now Rishi Sunak have “moved in the opposite direction”.Sir Keir said Britain has always been a “practical nation” in the past, even under Tory governments.“But these aren’t Churchillian tourists anymore, if anything they behave more and more like Donald Trump,” he added.The Labour leader said: “They look at the politics of America, and they want to bring it here. It’s all woke, woke, woke, wedge, wedge wedge, divide, divide, divide.“People can’t afford Christmas.”Sir Keir Starmer during a speech in Milton Keynes Sir Keir also attacked the Conservatives’ record on the NHS and crime, saying crimes are going unsolved and people do not know if ambulances will come when called.And he vowed Labour would no longer indulge in “performance art” policies such as the Rwanda scheme, but would indulge in “the mundane stuff, the bureaucratic stuff”.“It’s not about wave machines, or armoured jet skis, or schemes like your wonder you know will never work, it’s about doing the basics better,” Sir Keir said.In a speech from Milton Keynes, the Labour leader appealed directly to Conservative voters, saying: “Only a change of government can bring change to our country.”Sir Keir also used a Q&A after the speech to confirm the party would scrap Mr Sunak’s flagship Rwanda deportation policy.He said it is costing a “fortune”, will not work and is “against our values”. But he opened the door to the party considering a similar scheme, where asylum claims could be processed elsewhere, with successful asylum seekers able to return to the UK.Sir Keir said: “There are various schemes, as you know, around the world where individuals are processed, usually en route to their country of destination, elsewhere.”The Rwanda scheme isn’t one of those. This is a straight deportation scheme in relation to people who’ve already arrived.”Other countries around the world do have schemes where they divert people on the way and process them elsewhere. That’s a different kind of scheme.”And look, I’ll look at any scheme that might work.”Elsewhere in the speech, Sir Keir defended his time serving under predecessor Mr Corbyn. “We did lose our way, we lost our way into that 2019 election four years ago today,” he said.But he went further and appeared to criticise the leadership of other former leaders including Ed Miliband and ex-prime minister Gordon Brown.Asked about his claim that Labour had taken a “leave of absence from our job description”, “not just under Jeremy Corbyn, but for a while”, Sir Keir insisted he was not critiquing any “particular individual”.But said “it is a reflection of the fact that we have lost four elections in a row”, including under Mr Brown in 2010.Tory chairman Greg Holden said: “Once again Sir Keir Starmer showed he is only interested in short-term political positioning, not taking long-term decisions in the national interest.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe rejection of Rishi Sunak’s latest Rwanda bill will plunge his premiership into turmoil.The prime minister has denied that tonight’s result amounts to a vote of confidence in his leadership – but senior Tories have said otherwise.Of his five key pledges to the nation, the promise to “stop the boats” has taken up the most political capital.And MPs who support the Rwanda plan – which would see asylum seekers who arrive in the UK via “irregular routes” such as small boat crossings – believe it is a necessary deterrent.After it was struck down as unlawful by the Supreme Court, Mr Sunak published new planned legislation, entitled the Safety of Rwanda Bill, which would deem Rwanda safe in British law.It will be voted on in the House of Commons this evening and faces being the first bill defeated at its second reading since Margaret Thatcher’s 1986 Shops Bill – which would have ended the regulation of Sunday shopping in England and Wales.Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces another long and difficult day, as he bids to see of a major rebellion Who is opposing the bill?The so-called “five families” groups of backbench Tory MPs pose the biggest threat to the bill’s passage.The European Research Group (ERG), New Conservatives, Conservative Growth Group, Common Sense Group, and Northern Research Group have commissioned a “star chamber” of lawyers to determine whether it goes far enough to ensure flights to Rwanda get off the ground.The groups fear that in its current form, the bill would see the policy undermined by a stream of individual court appeals against deportation flights.The ERG, which commissioned the star chamber, said the group only “provides a partial and incomplete solution” and called on Mr Sunak to “pull the bill”.Mr Sunak met with a group of Tory MPs from the right of the party on Tuesday morning to convince them over breakfast to vote for the billMr Sunak met for breakfast with a group of Tory MPs from the right of the party on Tuesday morning in a desperate bid to convince them to vote for the bill. Do they have the numbers?If 29 Tory MPs vote against the bill it will fail, so yes – many more MPs than that have expressed their concerns.But the right-wing groups have not publicly pledged to vote it down, with many planning to let it go through its second reading before trying to introduce amendments later.Abstentions could also see the law chucked out if 57 Conservative MPs decide to vote neither for or against the bill.What happens if Mr Sunak loses?The PM’s ability to govern would be shot and he could either quit, contest a Tory leadership challenge or go to the country by calling a general election.If Mr Sunak quits or choses to fight a leadership contest, challengers would likely include former immigration ministers Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick. Others courting votes on the right of the party could include business secretary Kemi Badenoch and leader of the House of Commons Penny Mordaunt.Most Tory MPs are resigned to Mr Sunak leading the party into the next election, which is expected at some point next year. Yet another change of leader would see the fourth prime minister installed since Boris Johnson won the last election in 2019. The clamour for a general election would be immense.Some in the party, including senior MP Charles Walker, believe Mr Sunak would have to go to the country, adding that the prospect of a third Tory leadership contest in this parliament “leaves me cold”.If Mr Sunak goes straight to the country, he could fight the election on his promise to take tough action to “stop the boats”, using illegal immigration to draw a dividing line with the Labour Party. A win would give a strong democratic mandate to the Rwanda plan, which did not form part of the last Conservative manifesto.But with his party 20 points behind in the polls, a general election is likely to be a situation Mr Sunak will want to avoid.Can he defuse the rebellion?It is unlikely. If the bill passes its second reading tonight with the support of would-be right wing rebels, they will quickly turn their energy to seeking amendments.But any major changes pose two risks for the PM.One is that the Rwandan government has been clear with the UK that if the bill goes any further in disregarding international laws, it will pull out.Any amendments could also see the 100-strong One Nation group turn their backs on the bill, which would see it fall at a future vote.What if the bill gets through the commons?The bill would still face many hurdles, even if MPs approve it tonight. It will face rounds of discussion and debate, as well as a tricky passage through the Lords.And the Labour party has confirmed it will scrap the Rwandan deportation policy, meaning that if it fails to turn Tory fortunes around, it would have a limited time in force anyway. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email Poland’s newly elected prime minister, Donald Tusk, is scheduled to deliver his inaugural speech to parliament on Tuesday morning and present a Cabinet that will then face a confidence vote later in the day.Tusk, a centrist leader who was previously prime minister from 2007-2014, returns as the head of a broad alliance that spans the ideological spectrum from left-wing via his own centrist Civic Platform party to more conservative parties.He was elected by parliament on Monday and faces many challenges, from restoring democratic standards in his own country, working for the release of European Union funding frozen due to democratic backsliding by his predecessors and facing the implications of a war just across Poland’s eastern border in Ukraine. One of his easier challengers will be restoring ties with the EU, which were badly strained during the past eight years of rule by a national conservative government.Tusk, who served as European Council president from 2014-2019 and has strong connections in Brussels, is expected to improve Warsaw’s standing in the bloc’s capital. Tusk’s ascension to power came nearly two months after an election which was won by a coalition of parties that ran on separate tickets, but promised to work together under Tusk’s leadership to restore democratic standards and improve ties with allies. More