Rishi Sunak facing political fight of his life as he wars with right wing Tories over Rwanda bill
It was but three hours after the prime minister published his emergency Rwanda legislation and issued a “unite or die” plea to his parliamentary party that his immigration minister gave his answer, and quit government.
Rishi Sunak’s once close ally, Robert Jenrick, apparently didn’t want to unite and issued a resignation letter that clearly warned the prime minister that his policy was about to die.
He called the bill the PM was proposing “a triumph of hope over experience” as he warned that the “stakes for the country were too high for us to not pursue stronger protections required to end the merry-go-round of legal challenges”.
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The Tories are a party fearing “electoral oblivion”, with many MPs believing any chance of survival has to rest on those planes getting off the ground next April.
The question now is what happens to the prime minister as he confronts the biggest crisis he has faced by a country mile.
With his party deeply divided over how to proceed with the emergency laws, Mr Sunak has unleashed a vicious backlash on the right of the party, with not one, but two, leaders in Suella Braverman and Mr Jenrick.
There are up to 100 MPs in the right wing groups, such as the ERG, the New Conservatives, the Common Sense Group, who met this week to discuss strategy as they sought to press the PM to pull out of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) – the step they believe necessary to start the flights.
And while not all of them are willing to rebel, one figure with understanding of the factions and followings of this side of the party thinks there are 30 or so MPs willing to back Ms Braverman – enough to sink Mr Sunak’s majority.
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Rwanda treaty ‘ends merry-go-round’
As for the mood, it’s sulphurous. I’m told that Mr Jenrick went AWOL after saying the bill didn’t go far enough, even though, as two sources told me, Number 10 had the lawyers the immigration minister had been consulting saying it did.
But in a sign of the growing animosity, a source close to Mr Jenrick said: “This is completely untrue. They were presented with respectable legal arguments for strengthening the bill but made the political choice not to go further.
“They were uber cautious, and as a result the bill won’t work.”
It all adds to the sense that there are a group on the right of the party ready to blow this prime minister up, with eyes, not on the general election, but what comes next for the Conservative Party.
Even those who are backing the PM’s approach last night admitted the real chance of defeat, saying: “He will be hoping that the co-ordinated nature of this might bind the rest of the party together, but there are enough of them to defeat the bill, [and] at this stage of the parliament that would be a very big challenge.”
The second reading of this bill looks set to be next Tuesday, and between now and then Mr Sunak has the fight of his political career on his hands to convince the bulk of MPs on the right of the party that the legality of this bill will work and get flights off the ground.
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Conservative MP Danny Kruger says Tories must ‘unite’
The plan of attack was laid out in the PM’s letter to Mr Jenrick on Wednesday night, where he told his former friend that his departure from government was “based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the situation”.
A letter for Mr Jenrick’s supporters rather than the man himself, Mr Sunak said his emergency legislation would work because it “makes clear parliament deems Rwanda safe and no court can second guess that”.
The PM’s letter added: “It misapplies relevant parts of the Human Rights Act and makes clear it is for a minister to decide whether or not to comply with temporary injections by the European Court of Human Rights”.
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Mr Sunak also said Rwanda wouldn’t accept the scheme if it could be considered in breach of our international law – so what Mr Jenrick wants is a non-starter.
Two sides then at war, a sitting prime minister and the woman – and man – that would succeed him.
Over the next few days, it will be a battle for the hearts and minds of MPs as the PM’s team frantically tries to convince MPs that his plan will work and to stay the course.
It is a battle he has to win.
Politics
Kemi Badenoch accuses Sir Keir Starmer of ‘lying’ about Peter Mandelson prior to sacking him
Kemi Badenoch has accused Sir Keir Starmer of “lying to the whole country” about what he knew regarding Peter Mandelson’s correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein.
Lord Mandelson was this week stripped of his position as ambassador to the US amid fresh scrutiny over his years-long friendship with the convicted paedophile.
The prime minister initially defended the Labour peer but removed him from his post on Thursday after newly seen emails revealed he sent messages of support to Epstein even as he faced jail for sex offences in 2008.
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Lord Mandelson – the unanswered questions
The Times has now reported that Downing Street and the Foreign Office were aware of the emails on Tuesday – a day before Sir Keir gave Lord Mandelson his backing at Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs).
In a post on X, Conservative leader Ms Badenoch wrote: “Looks like the Prime Minister and Labour MPs spent the week lying to the whole country about what they knew regarding Mandelson’s involvement with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.”
She continued: “If No 10 had those emails for 48 hours before acting, it means he lied at PMQs and ministers lied again about new additional information. These are yet more errors of judgment.
“The Prime Minister has very serious questions to answer. The only way to clear this up is full transparency about who knew what, and when.”
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Sources said Sir Keir was not aware of the contents of the emails when he told MPs he had “confidence” in Lord Mandelson.
A media enquiry outlining details of the messages between Lord Mandelson and Epstein was sent to the Foreign Office on Tuesday, and passed on to Number 10.
Sir Oliver Robbins, the permanent under-secretary at the Foreign Office, asked Lord Mandelson about the emails on Tuesday, but did not receive a response until the following day.
Sir Keir is understood not to have been aware of the contents of the emails until Wednesday evening.
Speaking to Sky News, one Labour MP has called for more information on what happened behind closed doors at No 10 this week.
Jo White, MP for Bassetlaw, in Nottinghamshire, said: “We cannot move on until we find out how he [Sir Keir] was not briefed properly before PMQs.”
“What he needs to do now is get on top and sort out this mess,” she said. “Suspend the whip from Peter Mandelson and expel him from the party, then have a transparent enquiry about what went wrong at No.10.”
This came as Sir Keir enjoyed some time away from Downing Street.
The prime minister was on Saturday pictured watching Arsenal face Nottingham Forest in a Premier League match at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal fan Sir Keir cheered on his side as they won 3-0. Pic: Reuters
Lord Mandelson’s exit came after less than a fortnight after another high-profile loss for the Labour government, as Angela Rayner was forced to quit as deputy prime minister and deputy Labour leader over her tax affairs.
As Sir Keir has faced a scandal-hit start to the month, a growing number of Labour MPs have begun calling his leadership into question.
Read more from Sky News:
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Lucy Powell, who is running to replace Ms Rayner as Labour’s deputy leader, has called for a “change of culture” at Downing Street.
“We’ve got a bit of a groupthink happening at the top, that culture of not being receptive to interrogation, not being receptive to differing views,” she told The Guardian newspaper.
Meanwhile, senior Labour MP Emily Thornberry has written to the new foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, demanding answers about the vetting process for UK diplomats in the wake of Lord Mandelson’s sacking.
A man has admitted arson after a major fire at an MP’s constituency office.
Joshua Oliver, 28, pleaded guilty to starting the fire which destroyed the office of Labour MP Sharon Hodgson, at Vermont House in Washington, Tyne and Wear.
The fire also wrecked a small charity for people with very rare genetic diseases and an NHS mental health service for veterans.
The guilty plea was entered at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court on the basis that it was reckless rather than intentional.
Hodgson, who has been an MP since 2005, winning her seat again in 2019. Pic: Reuters
The Crown did not accept that basis of plea.
Oliver, of no fixed address, had been living in a tent nearby, the court heard.
Northumbria Police previously said it was “alerted to a fire at a premises on Woodland Terrace in the Washington area” shortly after 12.20am on Thursday.
“Emergency services attended and no one is reported to have been injured in the incident,” it added.
Drone footage from the scene showed extensive damage to the building.
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A spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Our prosecutors have worked to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to trial and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings.
“We have worked closely with Northumbria Police as they carried out their investigation.”
Oliver was remanded in custody and will appear at Newcastle Crown Court on Tuesday, 14 October.
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