Your report on the Lords Rwanda debate (Sunak’s Rwanda plan faces more hurdles as Tory peers condemn policy, 29 January) shows both the widespread concern at a government racing towards a totalitarian state, but also the inability of the second chamber to safeguard liberal democracy in this country. The Lords will try to put sensible amendments, but unless Labour’s frontbench is willing to make a stand and ultimately block bad law, then the government will win. Convention allows the Lords to do this, as disapplying the Human Rights Act was not in the Conservative party’s election manifesto, and there is no electoral mandate for this policy. Labour must either block the Rwanda bill, or commit to an elected second chamber that has the selective powers that would allow it to act as the guardian of our liberal freedoms.
Jenny Jones
Green party, House of Lords
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