House of Lords Takes on Difficult Stage Regarding Bill on Rwandan Flights

A crucial moment is approaching for the government’s divisive plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda: the House of Lords is getting ready to vote on the issue.

Votes that are scheduled for this afternoon and tonight, as well as on Wednesday, represent a turning point in a process that began almost two years ago. Ministers want to start traveling to Rwanda “in the spring.”

Remember the controversy that erupted in January when Lee Anderson, the previous deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, resigned along with two other Tories, and about sixty MPs objected to Rishi Sunak’s position?

While the House of Lords is still in session, some amendments have been put forth that cast doubt on the government’s claim that Rwanda is safe. A system to question assumptions of safety based on new, reliable evidence is proposed in certain revisions, while others call for the creation of a Monitoring Committee before judging Rwanda’s safety. Moreover, measures are in place to protect victims of modern slavery and spare those who have assisted the United Kingdom’s military forces from being deported to Rwanda, as well as their spouses and dependents.

Interestingly, independent peer Lord Anderson, who formerly reviewed government legislation on terrorism, is one of the proponents of revisions.

Lord Howard, the former leader of the Conservative Party, argues in favor of the bill because the Supreme Court is not accountable and that the government has the right to determine if Rwanda is safe.

The question that still has to be answered is how much the government is predicted to lose in the House of Lords, with further struggles expected in the House of Commons. The bill might become a law by the end of the month, despite certain obstacles, which has people wondering when flights to Rwanda would begin.

Speculators speculate about an early May election and draw a possible link between these developments and the government’s electoral plan. The general consensus, though, is in favor of a later election date.

In the meantime, countries involved in combating cross-channel illegal migration are gathering in Brussels under the leadership of Home Secretary James Cleverly of the Calais Group. This meeting comes after a horrible event that happened over the weekend: a girl, seven years old, lost her life when a boat sank north of Dunkirk.