British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s migration plan to send migrants to Rwanda finally won parliamentary approval on Tuesday, hours after he promised deportation flights would begin in July, The London Economic reports.
A parliamentary logjam that had stalled the bill for two months was finally broken just after midnight when the unelected House of Lords “recognised the supremacy” of the elected House of Commons and rescinded the last of its proposed amendments, giving the green light for passage.
The House of Lords had fought a long battle over the Rwanda Security (Asylum and Immigration) Bill, sending it back to the Commons five times in an attempt to secure changes.
The unelected House broke the deadlock after MPs rejected a requirement that Rwanda could not be considered safe until the Secretary of State, in consultation with an independent monitoring body, made a statement to Parliament to that effect.
The government said the Lords’ amendment was “almost identical” to previous amendments rejected by MPs. Green Party MP Caroline Lucas wrote on X:
So it looks like battle over #RwandaBill might be over – govt rejected Lords amendment on safety of Rwanda by 312 to 237, while Labour has accepted a “compromise” on Afghan interpreters which will do precisely *nothing* for those still waiting to get out of Afghanistan #Shameful.
Earlier, in the upper house of parliament, the opposition did not press its demand to include in the bill an exemption from expulsion for Afghan nationals who helped British troops after critics called it a concession.
The Home Secretary has promised that the government will not send those eligible under the Afghan Resettlement and Assistance to Afghans (Arap) Policy to Rwanda.
The new law is expected to clear the way for asylum seekers who cross the Channel in small boats to be sent on a one-way flight to Kigali. The legislation and the treaty with Rwanda are designed to prevent further legal wrangling over the stalled plan after the Supreme Court ruled it illegal.
As well as obliging judges to deem the East African country safe, the law gives ministers the power to ignore emergency injunctions. Political economist Will Hutton also commented on X:
So the Rwanda bill becomes law, with Britain an inspiration to the extreme right across Europe. Summary deportation with no right of appeal, some manacled in 21st century convict flights. If the ECHR dares to challenge, we leave that. All to reflect “ the people’s will”. Not mine.
Mr. Sunak said the policy could prevent huge flows of illegal migrants trying to make the perilous journey along the world’s busiest shipping lane.
Having completed its parliamentary passage, the Bill now goes for royal assent.
Earlier on Monday, Mr. Sunak blamed Labour for delaying the bill, admitting it would fall short of its self-imposed target for the Rwandan programme.
Sunak has put his political future on the line on deportation flights, pledging to “stop the boats”, a key part of his appeal to voters as opinion polls show his Conservative Party lagging far behind the Labour Party ahead of the general election later this year. Next week’s local elections are seen as a barometer of how parties will perform in the general election.
The debate in Britain comes at a time when countries in Western Europe and North America are looking for ways to slow the rise in migrant numbers as climate change, war and political oppression force people from their homes.
