The British government’s controversial bill to deport migrants who arrived illegally in the United Kingdom to Rwanda passed a first hurdle in Parliament on Tuesday evening, December 12. The text recognizes the security of Rwanda, and therefore allows asylum seekers to be sent there, to circumvent the invalidation by the courts.
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After almost seven hours of debate, the bill was approved by 313 votes for (269 against) in the House of Commons. The Rwanda bill therefore passes the first stage of parliamentary examination.
“ We will now work » so that this text “renters the law so that we can take off the flights to Rwanda and stop the boats » of migrants crossing the Channel, reacted the head of the conservative government on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
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.
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) December 12, 2023
Therese Coffey, former minister and ally of Rishi Sunak, considers that “ that’s excellent news “, reports our correspondent in London, Emeline Vin. “ We still have many points to debate in the next steps… But the Prime Minister can be satisfied. It was important to get the text passed, and a majority of 44 votes is really not that bad, especially given the tension that emerged! »
The vote, however, looked close. The government even urgently brought back its Minister of the Environment from COP28 in Dubai. The right wing of the Conservative Party wanted to go further, like Danny Kruger, during the debate. “ I regret, but this text is not satisfactory. I cannot support it, and I would have hoped that the government would withdraw it so that we could work to find a compromise, which respects parliamentary sovereignty. The proposal still allows for appeals, and we fear the courts will become clogged. »
Ultimately, the ultraconservative factions hope to amend the text in committee. The next readings promise to be just as complicated for the government.
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