RISHI Sunak is prepared to trigger a rarely used act to force through controversial laws on migration if the Lords seek to block the legislation, reports have suggested.
The move comes after peers threatened to delay the much-criticised Illegal Migration Bill until the Government publishes the “facts and figures” showing the financial impact of the proposals.
The bill is currently undergoing line-by-line scrutiny in the Lords at committee stage, with the UK Government braced for amendments to be made by peers at report stage.
It has been reported the Prime Minister will consider using the Parliament Act, which allows the House of Commons to overrule the House of Lords if legislation is voted down by peers.
Asked if he was willing to use the mechanism Sunak told The Telegraph: “One of my five priorities is to stop the boats. This legislation is an incredibly important part of how we’re going to do that.
“It passed the House of Commons very strongly. And my intention is to see this piece of legislation on the statute books so that we can start using it.”
When he was quizzed on the issue again, he added: “I want to see this legislation on the statute books. It’s one of my five priorities. It is the country’s priority and this legislation is an incredibly important part of how we’re going to do that.”
A UK Government source also said: “The bill has overwhelming support in the Commons - and the Lords should respect that.”
The Parliament Act 1911 removed the ability from the House of Lords to veto a bill, instead giving it powers to delay legislation up to two years – which was later reduced to one.
However, only seven laws have been passed using the act, according to a House of Commons Library briefing – with the last one the Hunting Act of 2004.
On Monday former senior judge Baroness Butler-Sloss, an independent crossbench peer, said it was “outrageous” the House of Lords was being asked to take decisions on the proposals for the Illegal Migration Bill without knowing the predicted impact of them.
Labour’s Lord Hunt of Kings Heath received shouts of encouragement as he said the Bill should not progress to its next stage without the impact assessment being available.
The Bill faces a rocky ride in the Lords, with the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby previously condemning it as “morally unacceptable and politically impractical”.
Peers later discussed amendments to the list of countries or territories where a person may be removed, with suggestions to explicitly state that LGBT+ people should not be taken to some of them due to fears of persecution.
A separate amendment also suggested removing Rwanda from the list given legal action to challenge the plan.
