Senior Tory MPs in Rishi Sunak’s campaign and ministerial team are in talks over a potential major rebellion on the Prime Minister’s flagship Rwanda Bill. Deputy chairmen Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith are both understood to be among those who might back a rebel amendment laid down by former Home Office minister Robert Jenrick to toughen up the Bill.
The Rwanda Bill is aimed at allowing deportations of illegal migrants to go ahead to the East African country in the wake of the Supreme Court blocking the policy.
But critics on the right of the party believe the Bill is not tough enough and will see the courts bogged down again with appeals from individuals wanting to remain in the UK.
It is underrsood that more than 50 Tory MPs have signed up to Mr Jenrick’s amendments and now MPs on the pay roll such as Mr Anderson and Mr Clarke-Smith may be prepared to join them.
Sources have said that if Mr Anderson and others vote against the government on the amendments they will have to resign from their rolls which would be a huge blow to the Prime Minister.
There is a belief among many Conservative MPs that a major rebellion could rapidly turn into a leadership issue if things go wrong for the Prime Minister.
Mr Anderson and Mr Clarke-Smith have told Express.co.uk that he will not be commenting publicly until tonight on the Bill.
Both are understood to be in talks with party whips as are others on the payroll.
One source pointed out that both Deputy Chairmen have already voted for similar measures being proposed in the amendment and have been strong advocates of “getting Rwanda done”, so “it is not a surprise” that they might vote for the amendments again.
The issues around the weekend polling which shows 11 cabinet ministers are set to lose their seats has alaso spooked many MPs.
One MP noted: “It’s not a surprise there’s a lot of negative stories [about Rwanda failures] and that awful polling has all come out this week too.”
The MP pointed to reports that Rishi Sunak blocked the government from getting its own plane for deportations while he was still Chancellor.
If the amendment fails then there is a question mark over whether rebels will try to vote down the Bill on third reading.
One MP considering their position said: “Potentially [I will voted aggainst the third reading] if it’s literally the only option we have left afterwards, but I’ve not decided yet. I think a lot of people are waiting to see what happens in the next 24 hours and whether any concessions are made.”
Meanwhile, it is being claimed that supporters of both Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch are involved in whipping up a rebellion with “both having eyes on the top job”.
