A Government source said that if Labour tried to derail the change in the law then Sir Keir would be guilty of “stopping stopping the boats”. “It absolutely is a key test for him,” they said.
Exclusive polling by WeThink shows nearly four out of 10 voters think migration levels would rise under a Labour Government with only around one in five expecting a fall. Failure to back the Bill, the source added, would show that Labour is “not serious” about efforts to halt small boats crossing the Channel.
They claimed Labour is “intrinsically squeamish” on immigration, adding that “you can’t get away from the fact that British people have been very, very clear – they want people to get a grip on immigration”.
The plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing was dealt a major setback last month when it was struck down by the Supreme Court. The new Bill is expected to declare that Rwanda is a safe country and put into law a treaty designed to address concerns about the safety of migrants.
There are calls in Tory ranks for the Government to have a “Plan B” ready in case flights to Rwanda are again stopped. MPs want ministers to negotiate arrangements with alternative countries.
Ex Defence Secretary Liam Fox said: “We should explore all options because there is a moral imperative to destroy the economic model of the people smugglers and end their evil trade.” Senior Tory Jake Berry said: “The Supreme Court judgement established, as a matter of law, that asylum seekers can be processed by the Government in other countries.
The last stumbling block now seems to be that the courts wont accept Rwanda and it is therefore right that the Government pursues agreements with other countries.” Fellow Tory MP Marco Longhi said: “I want to see planes taking off to Rwanda – and it should be up to our Government and not any court to decide whether that is a safe country. But we should also negotiate deals with other allies so Rwanda is not the only option.
“If migrants know they will be sent to another country to have their claims processed and that there is no chance of them staying in Britain then in an instant we will have removed any incentive for them to embark on a treacherous Channel crossing.” A Government source insisted that clearing obstacles to the Rwanda plan remains a priority.
“Rwanda is incredibly important to us,” they said. “We want to make it work.” There is optimism that other potential host countries may seek to strike deals with the UK if the Rwanda scheme is seen to work.
Likewise, there are strong expectations that other European countries will follow Britain’s lead in pursuing overseas processing. However, there are major tensions within the Conservative party over how far the Bill should go.
One option is to disapply the UK’s Human Rights Act. Another is to allow ministers to disregard the European Convention on Human Rights on asylum.
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “This Tory asylum chaos has gone on long enough. It’s time they stopped wasting time and taxpayers money on the failing Rwanda scheme and a instead adopted Labour’s plan to stop the criminal smuggler gangs with a new elite cross-border police force unit to work with Europol in a new security and intelligence sharing arrangement.”
The Home Office sees the Rwanda plan as a key element in a multi-pronged attempt to the stop the Channel crossings.
It is pursuing a “disrupt, disrupt, disrupt” strategy to shatter the business model of the people smugglers and persuade people not to attempt a crossing.
