Rishi Sunak appealed for the House of Lords to “do the right thing” and vote his Rwanda bill through at a press conference on Thursday morning.
He said not doing so would “frustrate the will of the people” and stressed that the “elected” parliament had backed the legislation with a majority.
The Prime Minister also brushed off questions about division in the Tory party, insisting that Wednesday night’s results show Conservatives are “united in wanting to stop the boats”.
After a third reading in the Commons, the Safety of Rwanda Bill passed unamended with a majority of 44.
While the successful passage is a boost to Mr Sunak, it came after dozens of backbenchers rebelled to back right-wing amendments over the course of Tuesday and Wednesday, before many of these would-be Tory rebels ended up falling into line to back the flagship legislation.
Downing Street described the Rwanda Bill’s progression as a “major step” in the Prime Minister’s pledge to stop small boats of asylum seekers from coming to Britain via the English Channel. The Government is now said to be targeting spring deportation flights to Rwanda after the Commons result.
