Rishi Sunak has said that the final passing of the Rwanda Bill is a “fundamental change in the global equation on migration”.
The triumphalism came after the House of Lords finally backed down and accepted MPs’ rejection of any amendment to the flagship Bill.
After weeks of so-called parliamentary ping pong between the two chambers, MPs and peers were yesterday forced to sit for another eight hours, in gruelling scenes that saw MPs reject the Lords’ remaining two amendments; the Lords force a vote on one of the two remaining amendments; MPs then reject that amendment again; before the House of Lords caved in.
The Government’s victory came shortly after midnight, following a final victory in the Commons with a majority of 75.
Speaking early this morning, Mr Sunak hailed the passing of his seminal legislation as: “Not just a step forward but a fundamental change in the global equation on migration”.
“We introduced the Rwanda Bill to deter vulnerable migrants from making perilous crossings and break the business model of the criminal gangs who exploit them.
“The passing of this legislation will allow us to do that and make it very clear that if you come here illegally, you will not be able to stay.
“Our focus is to now get flights off the ground, and I am clear that nothing will stand in our way of doing that and saving lives.”
Home Secretary James Cleverly added that today is a “landmark moment in our plan to stop the boats”.
He promised that the Safety of Rwanda Bill will gain Royal Assent, and become law, “in days”.
The crucial legislation, the Government hopes, will prevent illegal migrants from abusing the law by using false human rights claims to block removals.
It also makes clear that Parliament is sovereign, and gives the Government the power to reject interim blocking measures imposed by European courts.
This morning the Government confirmed that flights to Rwanda will be delivered in 10-12 weeks, with multiple flights set to take off afterwards.
Lord Anderson of Ipswich – the Crossbench Peer who was pushing the final amendment and forced voting to go on into the early hours – finally gave in shortly before midnight, saying it was “Time… to acknowledge the primacy of the elected House and to withdraw from the fray”.
However he said his proposed change was trying to fight a “disease” at the heart of the Rwanda Bill, namely that Parliament will not get a say over whether the African country is ‘safe’.
He added: “This is the Government’s Bill, resolutely free of any outside influence. As a patriot, I can only hope—though I am afraid, without much optimism—that it will bring benefits, in some way, commensurate to its real and painful cost”.
