UK Prime Minister Faces Opposition from His Camp Over UK-Rwanda Asylum Scheme Plan

It looks like the bill proposed by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to deport specific asylum seekers to Rwanda may be undermined by his own party. Rishi Sunak is facing opposition from 30 right-wing Conservative MPs who are backing plans to change the bill next week to make it harder for people to appeal against deportation.

These MPs want to introduce amendments to limit appeals when migrants face deportation. They are convinced that the current bill lacks sufficient tightening in this aspect, a stance disputed by the British government.

For a brief explainer, the Migration Act introduced last month aims to declare Rwanda a safe country in which to send asylum-seekers to deal with the issue of thousands of illegal migrants crossing the Channel into the UK. 

Under the plan, anyone who arrived in Britain illegally after Jan. 1, 2022, faced being sent to Rwanda. This move taken by the prime minister was to fulfil one of his agendas, which was “stopping the boats”.  But those on the right wing of his Conservative Party want him to go further.

The British government believes that this bill will serve as a deterrent to other migrants coming on ‘small boats’ across the Channel but will make exceptions for asylum seekers facing real risks of serious harm.

The 30 right-wing Conservative MPs believe it is a weak bill and seek to make amendments to the bill to make it harder for people to appeal deportation.

In all of this, Kigali has already made it clear that it will not support a program that does not respect international obligations.

About The Author

Joy Chukwu

author

See author's posts