The principal peril facing Rishi Sunak is the fact that, in practice, he presides over a hung Parliament. True, the Prime Minister notionally commands a working majority of 66. In reality, however, the Conservative backbenches are divided by ideology, faction and the proto-campaigns of those vying to succeed him as party leader.
Yesterday, as the Commons debated the Illegal Migration Bill, the flagship legislation of the PM’s “small boats” strategy, he was able to negotiate a truce of sorts with the main group of backbench rebels — but only just, by postponing the moment of reckoning.
