British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces the biggest parliamentary test of his premiership on Tuesday when lawmakers vote on his divisive plan to send asylum seekers to live in Rwanda.
The UK Supreme Court ruled last month that Rwanda was an unsafe place to send those arriving in small boats on England’s southern coast, and that the policy would breach British and international law.
In response, Sunak has agreed a new treaty with the east African country and brought forward emergency legislation to override domestic and international human rights law.
The move has deeply divided his party, alienating both moderates, who are worried about Britain breaching its human rights obligations, and right-wing politicians, who contend it does not go far enough.
“We believe the best solution here is we should pause the legislation today, we should come back with a new bill,” one Conservative lawmaker, Simon Clarke, told BBC Radio.
Lawmakers on the right of the party, who have not said whether they will abstain or vote against the government, believe the bill will still allow asylum seekers to appeal against deportation.
The government’s legal advice said access to courts formed part of Britain’s tradition of liberty and justice, available even in wartime.
Governments around the world are grappling with rising migration levels, and some are following the British plan to see if it will work. French lawmakers rejected their immigration bill last night, in a blow to President Emmanuel Macron.
