Illegal Migration Bill: Government accused of ignoring international law during House of Lords defeats
Defeats in the House of Lords mean the government will need to make the case about why it should not be legally bound by international refugee conventions.
The government suffered a series of setbacks on its Illegal Migration Bill in the House of Lords on Wednesday, amid fierce opposition from peers.
One of the amendments passed by the ermined legislators included a requirement for the government to abide by a series of international agreements such as the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights, the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The bill seeks to prevent people who cross the Channel from claiming asylum, instead looking to deport them to where they originated or to a third country like Rwanda, and will also introduce caps on the number of people entering the UK.
But the Lords called for changes to the government’s proposed law.
Peers voted to say the bill should only apply from when it is brought into law – rather than it being backdated to 7 March.
The upper house went on to vote to change the law to allow unaccompanied children to claim asylum, and to ensure alleged victims of people trafficking are not detained or deported before they can apply to a referral system for protection and support.
After these four votes, the balloting system in the House of Lords failed, meaning the session will resume on Monday.
Peers will be deciding whether they want to attempt to force Home Secretary Suella Braverman to consider asylum claims from people who have not been removed from the UK within six months, as well as limiting the destinations where LGBTQ people can be deported.
Once the amendments have been voted on, the bill will return to the House of Commons, where government MPs could vote to strip out the changes made by the other House.
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From May: Migration bill an ‘utter failure’
However, the government will still have to explain why it does not think a legal requirement to abide by international refugee charters is necessary after the votes in the Lords.
“Stopping the boats” is one of Rishi Sunak’s five priorities as prime minister.
Home Office minister Lord Murray of Blidworth accused peers of trying to derail the bill, branding the change a “wrecking amendment” that would make it unworkable.
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But Conservative Baroness Helic said: “The government say they believe it is compliant. A great number of others, including some of the bodies tasked with implementing these conventions, say that it is not.
“What is clear is that disobeying or disapplying international agreements which bear the name of the United Kingdom is not acceptable.
“If the government is unhappy with international obligations, then they are free to seek to renegotiate them, but simply ignoring our international legal commitments in pursuit of domestic expediency puts us in very bad company.”
When it comes to children, the government’s plans would only allow people to stay in the UK until they turn 18, and they would not be able to stay in the country.
The amendment to allow youngsters to make claims to stay was championed by Labour peer Lord Dubs, who fled the Nazis as a child on the Kindertransport scheme.
UK drivers are “confused” by the country’s electric car transition, ministers are being warned.
Although most drivers are not hostile towards electric vehicles (EVs), many are confused about what changes are coming and when, according to new research from the AA.
In a survey of more than 14,000 AA members, 7% thought the government was banning the sale of used petrol and diesel cars.
Around a third thought manual EVs exist, despite them all being automatic.
More than one in five said they would never buy an EV.
The government’s plan for increasing the number of electric vehicles being driven in the UK focuses heavily on increasing the supply of the vehicles.
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What you can do to reach net zero
In 2024, at least 22% of new cars and 10% of new vans sold by each manufacturer in the UK had to be zero-emission, which generally means pure electric.
Each year, those percentages will rise, reaching 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans in 2030.
Manufacturers will face fines of £15,000 per vehicle if electric vehicle sales fall short of 28% of total production this year.
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By 2035, all new cars and vans will be required to be fully zero emission, according to the Department for Transport.
Second-hand diesel and petrol cars will still be allowed to be sold after this date, and their fuel will still be available.
There are more EVs – but will people buy them?
In February, 25% of new cars were powered purely by battery and in January, they made up 21% of all new cars registered in the UK.
But despite the growth of electric sales, manufacturers continue to warn that the market will not support the growth required to hit government EV targets, and called for consumer incentives and the extension of tax breaks.
The AA suggested the government’s plan focuses on “supply but does little to encourage demand for EVs”.
It called on ministers to co-ordinate a public awareness campaign alongside the motoring industry which directly targets drivers who doubt the viability of EVs.
“Our message to government is more needs to be done to make EVs accessible for everyone,” said Jakob Pfaudler, AA chief executive.
Which? head of consumer rights Sue Davis said: “When it comes to making sustainable choices such as switching to an electric car, our research shows that people are often held back by high costs, complex choices or uncertainty.
“The government needs to provide the right information on electric vehicles and other sustainable choices so that people have the confidence to switch.”
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We’re investing over £2.3bn to help industry and consumers make a supported switch to EVs.
“This includes installing a public charge point every 28 minutes, keeping EV incentives in the company car tax regime to 2030, and extending 100% first-year allowances for zero-emission cars for another year.
“Second-hand EVs are also becoming cheaper than ever, with one in three available under £20,000 and 21 brand new models available for less than £30,000.
“We’re seeing growing consumer confidence as a result.”
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