Rishi Sunak won a crunch vote in the House of Commons on his controversial Rwanda Bill despite Tory Right-wingers refusing to back it on Tuesday night.
The Prime Minister avoided a damaging defeat after Tory Rightwingers moved away at the eleventh hour from torpedoing the legislation which they believe needs strengthening.
MPs voted by 313 to 269 to support the bill’s Second Reading, opposed by Labour.
Shortly after the vote, Mr Sunak said: "MPs have voted to pass the Safety of Rwanda Bill through to the next stage. We must control our borders. It is our country who should decide who comes here – not criminal gangs."
The British people should decide who gets to come to this country – not criminal gangs or foreign courts.
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) December 12, 2023
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.
Home Secretary James 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."
Before the vote, Conservative hardliners said five groups representing dozens of potential rebels would not vote "collectively" for it.
But the "bulk" of the potential rebels were expected to abstain, according to Mark Francois, leader of the European Research Group, rather than vote against it.
He told reporters ahead of the vote: "We have decided collectively that we cannot support the bill tonight because of its many omissions, therefore while it’s down to every individual colleague ultimately to decide what to do, collectively we will not be supporting it."
The result gave Mr Sunak some breathing time to get his party more fully behind him on his plan to deal with the "small boats" crisis.
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.
The division list released by the Commons authorities indicates that 307 Tory MPs voted for the bill, along with five independent MPs, including Peter Bone, who has the Conservative whip suspended.
But Tory Rightwingers want to amend the bill at its later parliamentary stages in the New Year to toughen it up.
One Nation moderate Conservative MPs have warned they would oppose any amendments that would risk the UK breaching the rule of law and its international obligations.
The number of small boat arrivals in the UK will rise "for many years to come" unless the Rwanda plan is properly carried out, former immigration minister Robert Jenrick told the Commons.
He added: "There are good people on both sides of this House and certainly within my party who have disagreements about how we can make this policy work.
"When untold damage is being done to our country, when this issue will be with us for years if not decades to come, where if we do not operationalise this policy correctly, we will see the numbers rise, and we will see them rise for many years to come.
"If, God forbid, there was a Labour government, there would be a decade of small boat arrivals. I want to stop that."
Opposition MPs voted against the bill which human rights group Amnesty International branded an "outrageous attack on the very concept of universal human rights".
The bill allows ministers to disapply some parts of the Human Rights Act regarding deportation flights to Rwanda, restricting possible legal challenges, but does not go as far as overriding the European Convention on Human Rights.
It also declares that the East African country is a "safe" place to send asylum seekers and economic migrants who arrive in the UK by "small boats" after a new treaty was signed with Kigali and other changes.
Just weeks ago the Supreme Court ruled Rwanda was not a "safe" country for the UK’s plan given risks that some asylum seekers could be deported to the country they had originally fled, even if they could face torture or even death.
In response to the Commons vote, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said on Tuesday: "The Rwanda policy has always been unworkable, inhumane and a waste of money. "Our city and country has stood as a sanctuary for those seeking refuge for centuries. We deserve so much better than this cruel incompetent Government."
Labour's shadow home secretary said the Government's asylum scheme could cost £400 million and take more than 100 years to deport 15,000 people.
Yvette Cooper branded the proposal "extortionately expensive" in the Commons on Tuesday after she questioned whether ministers have made further commitments beyond the cash already spent on the grounded scheme.
The Home Office confirmed £240 million has been paid to Rwanda so far with another payment of £50 million anticipated in 2024/25. No asylum seeker has been sent to Rwanda so far as flights remain grounded because of a series of legal setbacks.
