British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak sees a minor relief as the United Kingdom's Rwanda plan passed its first House of Commons vote.
Despite the victory, Sunak still faces a battle to get the immigration plan through Parliament amid widespread criticism. The legislation comfortably passed its first Commons hurdle with a majority of 44, but more votes will be held this year.
Rwanda Bill Passes First House of Commons Vote
No Tory MPs have voted against the Rwanda plan, but some critics on the party's right have rebelled by abstaining from the vote. Opposition lawmakers argued that they had been told the prime minister would consider "tightening" the bill.
However, this could potentially risk losing the support of more centrist Tory MPs, who have issued warnings that they would oppose any future changes that would breach international law. As per BBC, the emergency legislation was proposed to revive the government's plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda.
The British government has argued that the scheme is designed to deter migrants from crossing the Channel aboard small boats. This is an effort that Prime Minister Sunak has made into one of his key priorities.
Climate Minister Graham Stuart returned from the COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai to vote for the Rwanda plan. This was seen as a sign of nerves in Downing Street over the potential for a tight result.
However, some Tories on the right threatened to vote against Sunak's Rwanda bill, but in the end, only opposition MPs did so and the bill passed by 313 votes to 269. More than 30 Tory MPs, including former Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick and former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, did not record a vote for the plan.
Facing Widespread Criticism
The result of the vote comes as Sunak has pinned his reputation on the Rwanda bill and amid fears that some of the prime minister's Conservative lawmakers would help defeat the bill because it was not tough enough to address the migrant crisis, according to Reuters.
In a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, Sunak said that the British people should decide who gets into the country. He argued that this should not include criminal gangs or foreign courts.
Sunak's Conservatives have been in power for more than a decade and are trailing the opposition Labour Party by roughly 20 points. They have fractured along multiple lines and lost most of their d discipline ahead of the first parliamentary vote on the Rwanda bill.
Right-wing Tories who abstained in the latest vote warned Sunak that the bill should become tougher or risk being voted down when it returns to the Commons in early January. Now, the prime minister faces weeks of chaos as he struggles to keep his party together amid internal disputes.
Loyalist ministers have warned that rebel lawmakers could push the government to the brink of collapse. The situation comes as Sunak's leadership is in tatters and Labour Party leader Keir Starmer is demanding an immediate general election if the Rwanda bill fails, said The Guardian.
