Sunak's Rwanda bill nears critical vote

Lawmakers in the United Kingdom's Parliament were preparing for a "robust" debate on a bill to allow the government to send asylum-seekers who arrive without permission in Britain to Rwanda on Wednesday, ahead of a crucial vote to approve the controversial policy in the evening, after two Conservative Party deputy chairmen and a ministerial aide resigned over the issue.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faced the biggest Conservative Party rebellion seen under his leadership on Tuesday, when Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith and parliamentary private secretary Jane Stevenson stepped down to vote for changes they said would toughen up the Rwanda bill, with 60 more Tory lawmakers pledging to back the rebel amendments. More votes on more alterations to the plan were expected on Wednesday.

The Rwanda plan, agreed in April 2022 by then-prime minister Boris Johnson, was designed to deter migrants from coming to Britain illegally and break the business model of people smugglers. Under the plan, anyone who arrived in Britain illegally after Jan 1, 2022, faced being sent to Rwanda.

The government's asylum policy has caused significant concern within the Conservative Party during an election year. While Downing Street maintains confidence in the overall passage of the bill, there are indications that Sunak is considering concessions, the BBC reported.

If the bill remains unchanged, it will be put to vote after the debate. If approximately 30 Tory Members of Parliament align with opposition parties in opposing the bill during its final House of Commons hurdle, there is a possibility of it being defeated, though only a small number of Conservative MPs have so far explicitly stated their intention to vote against it.

Illegal Immigration Minister Michael Tomlinson told the BBC's Breakfast he was certain the legislation would pass later on Wednesday following "a robust but respectful debate in the chamber this afternoon".

"We have got six hours of debate at Committee Stage … if there are no amendments that are made, we then go straight on to Third Reading," he said.

On Tuesday, proposed changes to the bill, which aimed to prevent the use of international law to block someone's removal to Rwanda and restrict an individual's ability to appeal their deportation, were rejected.

However, these amendments received support from influential Tories, including former home secretary Suella Braverman and former prime minister Liz Truss, Evening Standard newspaper reported.

To maintain support among centrist MPs, Sunak has resisted the demands of his right-wing critics. However, in an attempt to appease them, the government is contemplating a concession that would alter guidelines to allow for ignoring rulings from the European Court of Human Rights that impede deportations.