Rwanda bill stalls as Rishi Sunak chooses party management over speed

Analysis: Rwanda bill stalls and the Government appear to be giving up

The Rwanda deportation bill is expected to be put on hold until April 17 after the House of Lords inflicted seven defeats on Wednesday.

Rishi Sunak’s flagship proposal lost seven votes in the other place, but despite being promised as “emergency legislation”, Downing Street has sent MPs home early for the Easter break.

This means the legislation, which the Prime Minister hopes will see deportations by Spring, held up yet again, with no vote scheduled. It will now come after recess, but given the possible further delays the bill will face from legal challenges, the Government not rushing seems to show a change of tact.

The garden and grounds of the Hope Hostel in Kigali, Rwanda, where migrants will stay after arriving from the UK.

Previously it was labelled a “priority”, and the urgent issue at the heart of the Tory party, one that saw resignations and a battle with the so-called “five families”.

Speaking Thursday morning, Tory MP Andrea Leadsom blamed Labour for the delay, but it's the government that has chosen to delay the second round sending it back to peers.

There are two schools of thought as to why the delay has happened. Some in Government suggest it was about party management, sending MPs home early to ease tensions, with the decision of a one line whip announced before the Prime Ministers crucial address to the 1922 Committee.

Others still saw it as diffusing tensions, but by getting MPs out of Westminster, sending dissenters home to their constituencies where they’re less likely to cause trouble. If MPs aren’t in the tearooms, they’re less likely to talk solely about the party.However, this is not without its risks. Tory Lords were under huge pressure from Government whips to vote on the Rwanda bill, being told it was an urgent vote that required their attendance. Having lost anyway, for a bill that’s delayed, Conservative peers are now said to be furious at having wasted their time.

Some in Westminster see the Rwanda bill as red meat to the right of the Tory party, a policy to placate them, rather than deliver substantial change. The suspicion is, sending MPs early is no different.