THE Prime Minister has won a crunch vote on his Rwanda plan despite right-wing Conservative factions announcing they could not back emergency “stop the boats” legislation.
With Rishi Sunak facing a test of his authority, there appeared to be fears in his administration that a potential rebellion could see the Safety of Rwanda Bill defeated at its first hurdle in the Commons.
But MPs approved the Bill at second reading by 313 votes to 269 on Tuesday, giving the UK Government a comfortable winning majority of 44.
Following the result, the Prime Minister tweeted: “The British people should decide who gets to come to this country – not criminal gangs or foreign courts.
“That’s what this Bill delivers. We will now work to make it law so that we can get flights going to Rwanda and stop the boats.”
Tory MPs who had been demanding tougher measures as part of the legislation announced only moments before the crunch vote that they could not support the Bill in its current form.
But the outcome proved more comfortable than initially feared for Sunak.
The division list showed no Tory MPs voted against the Bill.
There were 38 Conservative MPs listed as having no vote recorded, although this does not automatically equate to an abstention.
How did Scotland’s six Tory MPs vote?
All six of Scotland’s Tory MPs voted to back the emergency Rwanda plan. These included Alister Jack, John Lamont, and Andrew Bowie – who are all ministers in Rishi Sunak’s government.
David Duguid and David Mundell also backed the migration bill.
Douglas Ross, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, also voted in line with the UK Government.
Home Secretary James Cleverly said “Parliament has spoken” after the vote.
In a post to Twitter/X, Cleverly said: “Parliament has spoken. We must be able to choose who comes to our country – not criminal gangs.
“That’s what this Bill will deliver.”
