UK PM Rishi Sunak on charm offensive to win over Tory rebels

London: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is on a charm offensive on Tuesday in a bid to win over parliamentarians from within his Conservative Party threatening to rebel against the government’s Safety of Rwanda Bill, aimed at overcoming legal hurdles in the way of deporting illegal migrants to the east African nation.

Ahead of an early-stage vote on the bill expected in the House of Commons later in the day, Sunak hosted a breakfast summit for the Tory rebels on the extreme right of the party who are opposed to the bill because they feel it is not strong enough to circumvent legal challenges.

However, more centrist Tories are against the “toughest anti-immigration law ever” being toughened further to threaten the UK's human rights obligations. With the Opposition parties planning to vote against it, Tory rebels either voting against or abstaining in Tuesday night’s vote to defeat the bill is seen as a test of Sunak’s authority within his own party.

“The bill is not a silver bullet, but it will make it more likely that some illegal immigrants are sent to Africa,” former defence secretary Ben Wallace, among the senior Tory MPs urging the party to unite behind the bill, writes in ‘The Daily Telegraph’.

“Yes, we lost before the courts, but just like any government before us, we have addressed the issues and I am confident that, as long as Labour doesn’t use the unelected House of Lords to derail the scheme, there is a good chance the return programme will progress,” he said.

Another former Cabinet colleague, Geoffrey Cox, told the BBC that the bill is the beginnings of the solution to a major problem.

“We need to unite – improve it – but get it through,” he said.

The New Conservatives group on the other end of the party insists the bill required "major surgery or replacement".

More than 40 members met on Monday evening to discuss how they would vote and many planned to abstain or vote against the bill. Sunak will hope his breakfast charm offensive ahead of a weekly Cabinet meeting will be enough to ensure he doesn’t become the first UK PM in nearly 40 years to face a defeat on a vote at such an early stage of a government bill.

Tuesday is just the first parliamentary test for the Safety of Rwanda Bill, referred to as the second reading in the Commons, giving MPs a chance to debate and vote on its main principles before any amendments.

If it is defeated at this stage, it would mean the end of the bill in its current form. The government says the aim of the policy is to deter migrants from crossing the English Channel and it is central to the plan to "stop the boats", one of Sunak’s top priorities ahead of a general election year in 2024.

The Opposition Labour Party has accused the Tories of infighting rather than coming up with workable solutions on the issue of illegal migration.

Labour Leader Keir Starmer described the Rwanda scheme, which has already cost the UK taxpayer GBP 290 million, as a "gimmick" that proves the Tory-led government had "lost control of our borders".

Under the plan, the UK plans to deport illegal migrants to Rwanda while their asylum claims are processed and hopes it will act as a deterrent for people smugglers bringing migrants illegally to UK shores. The new law is intended to deal with the UK Supreme Court having ruled the policy unlawful last month.