The House of Lords of the British Parliament has voted to delay the ratification of a deal aimed at overcoming a legal block on Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda plan.
The much-discussed plan involves asylum seekers who arrive on England’s south coast in small rubber boats being sent to Rwanda.
The proposal has met with a lot of opposition, including from British courts, which believe it is a breach of international law to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. The Supreme Court therefore blocked the bill in December.
To overcome opposition from the courts, Britain last year signed an agreement with Rwanda, in which the African country committed itself to safeguarding the security of any sent asylum seekers.
It is this agreement that the Upper House on Monday voted to postpone the ratification of. The decision was adopted with 214 votes against 171 votes. The result indicates the extent of the opposition to the government’s new bill in the Upper House.
Last week, the controversial bill was passed in the House of Commons. At the end of January, it will be debated by the opposition in the Upper House. The decisive vote will probably take place in March.
The upper house is likely to make changes to the bill and may ultimately delay it for a year, which will mean that it cannot be passed until after the next election.
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Sunak’s controversial plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda passed in Parliament
2024-01-22 21:25:26
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