Moderate Conservative MPs are reportedly poised to force the UK Government to U-turn on its Illegal Migration Bill'. They are calling for the introduction of a new safe and legal route for up to 20,000 migrants each year, as part of a scheme created in partnership with the UN refugee agency.
The move comes as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak attempts to quell a rebellion by both moderate and hardline Conservative backbenchers over his Illegal Migration Bill. Led by Tim Loughton, the moderate Conservative group’s proposed amendment has cross-party support from Labour, reports The Telegraph.
The UK Government has said its Illegal Migration Bill will tackle the issue of migrants crossing the Channel in small boats by "removing the incentive for people to risk their lives through these dangerous and unnecessary journeys".
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: "The British people rightly expect us to solve this crisis and that’s what myself and the Prime Minister fully intend to do. We must stop the boats."
"It is completely unfair that people who travel through a string of safe countries then come to the UK illegally and abuse our asylum laws to avoid removal."
However, the UK currently only has existing safe and legal routes for people entering the country from Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Hong Kong, as well as refugee family reunion visas and a general resettlement scheme. Moderate Tories argue that these are insufficient.
They insist that new initiatives to bring migrants over must be included in the Illegal Migration Bill. The rebels are confident that the Home Secretary Suella Braverman will make the announcement as early as today (Monday, Martch 27). The new route would have an annual cap of refugees, voted on by MPs after consulting local authorities on their capacity to house migrants. The proposed number is around 20,000 per year initially.
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According to Home Office figures, just under half a million people have come to the UK under safe and legal routes between 2015 and December 2021, including 233,770 visas issued to Ukrainians and 153,708 visas issued to Hong Kong residents. Meanwhile, a separate safe and legal route for refugees fleeing from Afghanistan aims to resettle up to 20,000 people over the next few years, though a House of Commons Library report in January revealed that only 6,300 people were resettled in the UK following the summer 2021 evacuation from Afghanistan, and another four from neighbouring countries.
However, Rishi Sunak is also facing pressure from right-wing Tory MPs to strengthen the Bill, to ensure migrants cannot use the appeals system to block deportation flights. The Home Secretary is in talks with up to 60 Conservative MPs who are attempting to strip Strasbourg of the ability to interfere with Britain’s immigration policy. Ministers may agree to block the use of a controversial mechanism used by the European Court of Human Rights to ground the first flight to Rwanda last June.
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