IMMIGRATION
Britain’s Rwanda asylum saga
December 12, 2023 - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak headed off a Conservative revolt over his flagship Rwanda migration bill as the House of Commons voted 313 to 269 last night (December 12) to back the legislation in principle.
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Sunak wants to get his Rwanda bill onto the statute book in early 2024, with the first asylum seekers deported to the East African country “by the spring”, ahead of an expected general election next year.
But in November, the Supreme Court -- the highest court in the UK -- ruled the policy unlawful and could not go ahead as it was, concluding there was a real risk Rwanda could return genuine refugees to their home country, where they would face “ill-treatment.”
Sunak’s migration scheme has split the Conservative Party.
The European Research Group -- the party’s euro-sceptic caucus -- says the bill provides “a partial and incomplete solution to the problem of legal challenges in the UK courts.”
Meanwhile, the One Nation Tories -- a faction of around 100 MPs in the more centrist wing of the party -- have said the bill is already “right at the line” of acceptable international law.