Rwanda Bill Faces Tough Lords Test Even If It Survives Commons Row

Attention is on the House of Commons this week, as Tory rebels threaten to revolt over Rishi Sunak’s legislation designed to revive the plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, but even if it survives a row amongst MPs, it must still get past the Lords.

Many on the right of the party feel the legislation is not hardline enough, whereas self-styled moderate Tories have threatened to remove their support if legal protections are watered down. 

Although the Commons stages of the legislation could be completed in the coming days, the plans will still have to clear the Lords, where the Illegal Migration Act was subject to numerous amendments last year.

What could happen when the Rwanda legislation gets to the House of Lords?

The remaining stages of the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill have been condensed in the House of Commons, with all remaining steps scheduled to take place across two days, with a third reading vote possibly as soon as Wednesday. 

Lords, like MPs, will get the opportunity to vote on the legislation at a second reading, before getting the chance to scrutinise the bill in more detail and offer up amendments at the committee and report stages. 

Last November, PoliticsHome reported that the Lords would “probably” be the point at which the government runs into problems trying to get the plans over the line. 

Dr Alice Lilly, senior researcher at the Institute for Government, said that there has to be a “certain amount of political willingness” for legislation to get through quickly, and the fact that the plans are “politically so contentious” could slow things down. 

She pointed to emergency legislation that had to be passed during the Covid pandemic, where it made its way through both Houses quickly due