Sixty Tories turn on PM in Rwanda rebellion
Biggest revolt of Sunak’s premiership comes as deputy chairmen quit to vote against Bill
RISHI SUNAK suffered the biggest rebellion of his premiership yesterday as 60 Conservative MPS revolted by voting to toughen his flagship Rwanda Bill.
Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarkesmith both quit as Tory deputy chairmen to vote for the amendments, and a parliamentary aide to Kemi Badenoch, the Business Secretary, also resigned.
The key vote on the legislation is expected tonight, with at least 15 Tories threatening to vote down the Bill in its entirety and many more considering doing so. Leading rebels have urged Downing Street to acknowledge the strength of support and accept amendments that would make it easier to deport asylum seekers.
But No10 was holding firm yesterday evening, challenging the rebels to provide proof that their proposed changes would not breach international law and cause Rwanda to pull out of the scheme.
The departure of Mr Anderson, the outspoken former Labour councillor who was believed to be a “secret weapon” for this year’s election campaign, will be seen as a significant loss.
Downing Street had stood by Mr Anderson in a string of past controversies, believing him to be an electoral asset in trying to keep the support of northern Brexit-backing voters who turned Tory in the 2019 election.
In a joint resignation letter to Mr Sunak, Mr Anderson and Mr Clarkesmith said that their previous calls for a legally watertight new law meant that it was “important in terms of credibility” to be “consistent” and vote to strengthen the Bill.
Jane Stevenson, who was a parliamentary private secretary to Mrs Badenoch, who had pushed for tougher measures before Christmas, also resigned.
The Rwanda Bill is designed to improve the legal protections for Mr Sunak’s plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda for settlement if they arrive in the UK illegally on small boats.
The Prime Minister has argued that any strengthening of the legislation, unveiled in December in response to the Supreme Court ruling the scheme unlawful, would break international law. However, MPS on the Tory Right rallied around two rebel amendments yesterday. One, tabled by Robert Jenrick, the former immigration minister, would make it much harder for individuals to appeal deportation, while another, brought forward by Sir Bill Cash, would disapply international law over challenges to the Rwanda policy.
Both amendments were defeated, unsurprisingly since the Labour Party opposed them. But in each case 60 Tory MPS voted for them, defying the orders of Tory whips. Other amendments proposed by Labour and the SNP also failed.
Notable Tory rebels included Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, and Mr Jenrick, who quit when the Bill was first published.
Mr Jenrick was among those to criticise Mr Sunak’s immigration policy as MPS debated the amendments in the Commons, saying that the “current Bill does not work” and that there was “no reason” why the Prime Minister could not accept changes unless the Government’s “goal posts have been shifted”.
Sir Simon Clarke, the former local government secretary, warned that the Tories would have no chance of winning a general election later this year unless the Bill were amended.
“By that time, there will have, I’m afraid, been a contact between this Bill and the reality of our court system and I don’t think the outcome will be a pretty one,” he said. “There will be time for it to have been tested and I fear there will be time for it to fail.”
It was the biggest Tory rebellion Mr Sunak had suffered since he became Prime Minister in October 2022. Previously, 22 Tory MPS had forced a defeat on the infected blood scandal.
Theresa May faced a series of mass rebellions by Tory MPS over her Brexit deal, which ultimately led to a vote of no confidence in her leadership and ended her premiership.
Boris Johnson suffered a rebellion of 99 Tory MPS in December 2021 over his
plans for Covid vaccine “passports”. He was forced to resign in July 2022.
The critical vote for the Rwanda Bill’s third reading – the last chance for the Commons to give its view before the House of Lords debates it – could take place as early as this evening if no amendments pass.
Tory MPS will have to decide whether to accept they failed to toughen the Bill and vote it through in its existing form, or vote it down in its entirety, in what would be a major blow for Mr Sunak, who has made reducing small boat crossings one of his five priorities.
He would likely face renewed speculation about his leadership if the Bill was defeated in its entirety, with some Tories warning he could suffer defeat by miscalculating the numbers.
A senior Tory source told Sky News yesterday that they believed the Government had a 20 per cent chance of losing the vote, a result that would “catapult the PM into deep crisis territory”.
The Telegraph has established at least 15 Tory MPS are prepared to vote the legislation down if it is not amended. In theory, 28 rebels would be enough to force a defeat on the Government. But if other MPS abstain, the number of rebels needed to force a defeat would be lower.
A frantic day of back-room negotiations and lobbying between Downing Street and rebels is expected today. Yesterday, Downing Street said it was considering ordering civil servants to obey ministers if the Government chooses to ignore attempts by European judges to block flights to Rwanda after the idea was raised by Dame Priti.
Damian Green, chairman of the centrist One Nation group, warned that any hardening of the Bill could mean he and other like-minded Tory MPS vote against the legislation.
A Whitehall source doubted the rebels would vote down the Bill at third reading, saying: “How many of these brave MPS will back up their words with action? I bet no more than 10.” The Prime Minister issued no immediate public comment after the rebellions.