Rwanda Bill: Who governs Britain? Rishi Sunak or Tory Rightwingers...we'll know by the end of the day

For the PM, it has to be him if he is to walk away from the latest Tory psychodrama with salvageable authority
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Who governs Britain? Is it Rishi Sunak’s government or a group of Tory Righwingers led by Mark Francois, Lee Anderson, Miriam Cates and Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg. We’ll know by the end of the day.

But for Mr Sunak it has to be him if he is to walk away from the latest Tory psychodrama with salvageable authority.

The threat by some Tory rebels to side with Labour to kill off his Rwanda Bill, or force him to withdraw it, raised the prospect of Mr Sunak’s premiership being potentially plunged into its most perilous crisis.

He already suffered his biggest revolt in his time as PM on Tuesday evening when 60 Tory MPs backed a Sir Bill Cash amendment, which failed, but was aiming to ensure UK and international law cannot be used to prevent or delay an asylum seeker reaching Britain by “small boat” being removed to Rwanda.

But this rebellion would look like a minor skirmish if enough Tory hardliners go over the top to torpedo his flagship bill as it would leave Mr Sunak’s authority absolutely shredded in the dust. Politics often comes down to choices and numbers.

The Tory Right shouts very loudly but at least earlier in the two-day debate the Government appeared to have the numbers to get the bill through at Third Reading.

It is even possible that Mr Sunak could walk out away from the showdown with enhanced political capital if he faces down the Right of his party and gets Rwanda flights off the ground, the latter a big if, even by the Government’s assessments.

The country, though, may almost have given up listening in detail to the latest Tory civil war and appears to have largely decided it is time for change, according to polls.

The Tory infighting has also shifted the prism through which the bill is seen, and being reported, to the Right.

So it is easy to forget that the Government’s Rwanda plan was previously branded unlawful by the Supreme Court in a scathing judgement and that the United Nations refugee agency says the latest iteration would still breach international law.

In a damning verdict, former Tory Solicitor General Lord Garnier has said of the legislation, which declares Rwanda a safe country for deportations, as “rather like a bill that has decided that all dogs are cats”.

If it gets through the Commons, peers in the Lords will bombard the legislation with amendments but ultimately the Upper Chamber very rarely blocks the will of MPs.

But it will almost certainly head back to the courts where the Government’s Rwanda plan and Britain’s reputation for respecting the rule of law would again be in the dock.

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