Ministers have agreed to back two amendments to its flagship Illegal Migration Bill as part of No. 10’s attempt to ward off the latest Tory rebellion. The first is an agreement to change the law so that judges can no longer block migrant deportations. An amendment will give the Home Secretary the power to ‘disregard’ interim ‘Rule 39’ orders from the European Court of Human Rights – the so-called ‘pyjama injunctions’ suspended the first scheduled Rwanda deportation flight last June late at night. Previously, ministers were only willing to introduce this power to ignore last-minute injunctions if ministers failed to persuade the Strasbourg court to reform its Rule 39 orders.
A second concession to the 40-odd Tory rebels on the right of the party will make it much harder for UK courts to grant injunctions to stop deportations. The Bill will be amended so that the only way to stop a deportation of failed asylum seeker is by persuading a British judge that it would lead to ‘serious and irreversible harm’ in the territory to which they are being deported. These amendments are expected to be published today, before the Bill returns to the House of Commons for the next stage of votes next week. The legislation aims to bar anyone who arrives in the UK illegally from claiming asylum and ensure that all illegal migrants are detained and removed, as part of Rishi Sunak’s pledge to ‘stop the boats.’
Today’s concessions are a reminder of the importance which Sunak and his team place on party management. As part of his bid to buy off the rebels, the Prime Minister hosted members of the Common Sense Group for a breakfast of bacon sandwiches on Tuesday to discuss their concerns prior to a meeting that evening with Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister. In exchange for these amendments, the rebels will now no longer table their own amendments which risked splitting the party. Sunak is said to have told the rebels ‘Let’s not have blue on blue attacks – let’s not snatch defeat from the jaws of victory’ – a plea which fits with his pattern of parliamentary management. The government has repeatedly sought concessions rather than conflict on issues like small boats, house-building and wind farms. Votes which can’t be ducked – like on the Stormont Brake – are fought at the moment of maximum political advantage. It’s part of the government’s reasoning that it is better to have these fights in private, behind closed doors, rather than in public and in parliament.
The risk of this strategy is that while it may keep the party united, it will strengthen and embolden opposition in the House of Lords. Some in government fear that the rebels risk jeopardising the entire bill if it is strengthened even further. ‘This was already being described as the toughest bill ever – now it’s even tougher’ said one insider. Others are more relaxed about a fight with the Upper House, reasoning it could have a populist ‘Peers versus the People’ appeal. But the danger for Sunak is the spectacle of protracted parliamentary wrangling as the number of small boats arrivals ticks up over the coming warmer months.
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