Rwanda bill should stop 99.5% of migrant claims, minister says

Published

2 years ago

December 11, 2023

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Rishi Sunak’s new Safety of Rwanda Bill should stop 99.5% of legal claims made by migrants to block their deportation, a minister has said.

The prime minister is trying to convince his own backbenchers to support the legislation – with both the right of the Conservatives and separately the One Nation caucus set to announce whether they support it later today.

Only 29 Tory MPs need to vote against the government – or 57 need to abstain – for the government to be defeated.

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The bill seeks to declare Rwanda a safe country, and also empower ministers to ignore parts of the Human Rights Act from being used to stop people from being removed from the UK.

Speaking to Sky News this morning, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said: “The modelling suggests that of the current cases which are challenged successfully, 99.5% of them would not be challenged once this is in place.”

The minister – who was home secretary for less than a week during the political chaos in government last year – admitted it is “doubtless” the Safety of Rwanda Bill would be challenged in the courts.

The details of the bill are being examined by legal experts across the political spectrum, with the Tory right set to discuss their verdict at lunchtime on Monday.

Members of the European Research Group will be discussing their next steps like they did during Brexit, and have invited the likes of the New Conservatives, the Common Sense Group, the Conservative Growth Group and the Northern Research Group.

The ERG’s Sir Bill Cash, who is leading the investigation for the right, has already said the bill does not deliver on what is needed.

And some within the Conservative Party claim the figure used by Mr Shapps is from an “outdated and analytically flawed model”.

A senior Tory source said: “This is an outdated and analytically flawed model – from March – which came before defeats in the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.

“Number 10 don’t realise the world has changed, and that’s their fundamental problem.

“There was never any modelling done for the new Rwanda bill because they failed to plan. Even this old, optimistic model says it could take two months. It would be laughable if it wasn’t so serious.”

Some within the party have already stuck their head above the parapet to say they will not support the bill.

Robert Jenrick, who resigned as immigration minister last week, said he would be abstaining on Tuesday’s vote on the bill, with the hope of amending it at a later stage.

Writing in The Daily Telegraph, he said the idea it would “guarantee all those arriving are detained and swiftly removed is for the birds”.

He added the ability for individual legal challenges needed to be removed.

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Others – like former minister Neil O’Brien – have indicated they plan to support the government at the bill’s second reading on Tuesday, but then hope to amend it later.

Some One Nation Conservative MPs told the Politics at Jack and Sam’s podcast that parts of their group will vote against the government, while some on the right do not see a way of toughening the bill in a way that it could become law.

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RWAs build mirrors where they need building blocks

Published

4 hours ago

July 13, 2025

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RWAs build mirrors where they need building blocks

Most RWAs remain isolated and underutilized instead of composable, DeFi-ready building blocks. It’s time to change that.

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Collapsed crypto firm Ziglu faces $2.7M deficit amid special administration

Published

8 hours ago

July 13, 2025

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Collapsed crypto firm Ziglu faces .7M deficit amid special administration

Thousands of savers face potential losses after a $2.7 million shortfall was discovered at Ziglu, a British crypto fintech that entered special administration.

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Heidi Alexander says ‘fairness’ will be government’s ‘guiding principle’ when it comes to taxes at next budget

Published

9 hours ago

July 13, 2025

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Heidi Alexander says 'fairness' will be government's 'guiding principle' when it comes to taxes at next budget

Another hint that tax rises are coming in this autumn’s budget has been given by a senior minister.

Speaking to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander was asked if Sir Keir Starmer and the rest of the cabinet had discussed hiking taxes in the wake of the government’s failed welfare reforms, which were shot down by their own MPs.

Trevor Phillips asked specifically if tax rises were discussed among the cabinet last week – including on an away day on Friday.

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Tax increases were not discussed “directly”, Ms Alexander said, but ministers were “cognisant” of the challenges facing them.

Asked what this means, Ms Alexander added: “I think your viewers would be surprised if we didn’t recognise that at the budget, the chancellor will need to look at the OBR forecast that is given to her and will make decisions in line with the fiscal rules that she has set out.

“We made a commitment in our manifesto not to be putting up taxes on people on modest incomes, working people. We have stuck to that.”

Ms Alexander said she wouldn’t comment directly on taxes and the budget at this point, adding: “So, the chancellor will set her budget. I’m not going to sit in a TV studio today and speculate on what the contents of that budget might be.

“When it comes to taxation, fairness is going to be our guiding principle.”

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Afterwards, shadow home secretary Chris Philp told Phillips: “That sounds to me like a barely disguised reference to tax rises coming in the autumn.”

He then went on to repeat the Conservative attack lines that Labour are “crashing the economy”.

Mr Philp then attacked the prime minister as “weak” for being unable to get his welfare reforms through the Commons.

Discussions about potential tax rises have come to the fore after the government had to gut its welfare reforms.

Sir Keir had wanted to change Personal Independence Payments (PIP), but a large Labour rebellion forced him to axe the changes.

With the savings from these proposed changes – around £5bn – already worked into the government’s sums, they will now need to find the money somewhere else.

The general belief is that this will take the form of tax rises, rather than spending cuts, with more money needed for military spending commitments, as well as other areas of priority for the government, such as the NHS.