Channel Crossings Back to Full Flow as UK Parliament Passes Migration Bill
18th January 2024
Parliament isn’t too far from the Port of Dover, but it feels as though it’s on another planet. While Tory ‘rebels’ again laid down their knives on Wednesday to back a bill designed to deter illegal migration, around 200 people crossed the English Channel in small boats in challenging conditions.
Rishi Sunak’s Safety of Rwanda Bill passed comfortably in the House of Commons last night, with just 11 Tory MPs voting against, despite many more complaining that it is nowhere near tough enough. The bill, which will now be sent to the House of Lords for further scrutiny, is designed to overturn legal objections to sending illegal migrants to Rwanda for processing by declaring the African nation “safe.” The government succeeded in fighting down amendments which would have made it more difficult for future deportations to be blocked in the courts.
This is a definite victory for the prime minister and should stave off talk on the need for new Tory leadership, for now. But it is unlikely to have any real impact on the continuing Channel crisis, which Migration Watch UK Chairman Alp Mehmet, told The European Conservative will carry on regardless.