London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 28, 2026

The passage of the Rwanda bill could be just the beginning of Sunak's troubles

Rishi Sunak's Rwanda bill successfully passed in the Commons, but the victory may bring new challenges to the Conservative prime minister’s tenure. While Sunak avoided the catastrophic defeat a prime minister hasn’t faced since 1977, the bill saw resistance, with 60 MPs opposing it at one point, indicating Sunak's potentially precarious position.
Sunak, who inherited the contentious Rwanda deportation policy from his predecessors Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, could face further obstacles in implementing it. The House of Lords may seek to derail or delay the bill, though a delay seems more probable. If the bill does pass, its assertion that Rwanda is a safe country for deporting asylum seekers will likely face legal scrutiny.

Should legal challenges arise, Sunak and his ministers might criticize "lefty lawyers" and "unelected peers," but there's a risk that public opinion might turn against them, especially if Sunak fails to deliver on his promise to start deportations by spring.

Moreover, the policy's success hinges on reducing Channel crossings, a goal skeptics find unrealistic. Should it not work as planned, Sunak’s right-wing critics may blame insufficient implementation rather than the policy itself.

The policy has also sparked an "arms race" amongst Conservative members, with proposals such as militarizing the Channel appearing, likely influenced by fears of electoral challenges from right-wing entities like Reform UK.

This stronger stance on migration may alienate centrist Tory MPs, many of whom supported the bill reluctantly. Former Attorney General Jeremy Wright highlighted concerns within the party about adhering to international law and the sovereignty involved in interpreting compliance, reflecting the unease that could eventually lead to a tipping point for more moderate Conservatives.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Nearly 23,000 UK Households Expected to Move Home on Busiest Day of 2026
UK Benefit Payments to Arrive Early Ahead of August Bank Holiday
Reform UK Pledges to Replace GDPR and Cut Tax Administration Red Tape
Andy Burnham Launches Work Experience Plan for One Million Young People Outside Education or Work
Andy Burnham Faces Labour Backlash After Dropping Support for Political Donations Cap
Andy Burnham Announces UK-Wide Summit With Leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Met Office Warns of Heavy Rain and Flood Risk Across England and Wales After Summer Heat
Bank of England Warns AI Adoption Could Reduce Demand for Automatable Jobs
UK Confirms National Salmonella Outbreak With More Than 200 Cases
UK Airports Handle Record 81 Million Passengers Despite Middle East Disruption
Ofgem Raises UK Energy Price Cap by Four Percent to £1,723
Cyber Attack Hits Customer Data Systems at Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands Airports
TSA Unveils Major Airport-Security Overhaul as It Drops Gold+ Privatization Plan
CIA Chief Warned Russia Against Attacking NATO in Secret Moscow Mission
Raheem Sterling Charged With Dangerous Driving After Lamborghini Crash
The Secret Dolly Parton Kept Until Her Death: "She Was Much Sicker Than She Let On"
Middlesbrough House Fire Kills Woman and Seven-Year-Old Girl
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Return to UK Amid Renewed Media Attention
Raheem Sterling Charged With Dangerous Driving After London Collision
Greenpeace Threatens Legal Action Over Crown Estate Offshore Wind Leasing
Nvidia Revenue Surges to Ninety-Six Point Two Billion Dollars on Artificial Intelligence Demand
Meta Agrees to Global Youth Safety Changes Following Multi-State Legal Settlement
UK Government Plans Autumn Summit With Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish Leaders
CMA Caps Veterinary Prescription Fees at Twenty-One Pounds
Thames Water Pilot Records Forever Chemicals at Thirteen Times the Legal Limit
Kent Meningitis Outbreak Reaches Thirty-Four Confirmed Cases
Forty Children Missing From UK Asylum Accommodation Remain Unaccounted For
UK Court Upholds VAT on Private School Fees
US Designates Palestine Action as Foreign Terrorist Organization
UK Approves Massive New Chinese Embassy Complex in London Amid Security Concerns
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Visits Kyiv and Offers Cruise Missile Designs to Ukraine
Glacier Collapse, Not Earthquake, Triggered Deadly Nepal-Tibet Flood
Andy Burnham Drops Plan to Cap Political Donations
Conservative Leadership Contest Intensifies as Robert Jenrick Attacks Kemi Badenoch
French-Born Defence Secretary Wes Streeting Condemns Homophobic Abuse Since Taking Office
UK Government Delays Commercial Robotaxi Rollout in London Over Regulatory Gaps
NHS Complaints About Autism and ADHD Care Waiting Times Triple Over Five Years
UK Government Launches 10,000 Work Placements for Young People With Sainsbury's
NHS England to Offer Free At-Home Cervical Cancer Screening Kits
EU Biometric Border Checks Cause Delays of Up to Five Hours for British Travellers
US Imposes Economic Sanctions on UK-Based Protest Group Palestine Action
Two Planned UK Datacentres Could Produce More Annual Carbon Emissions Than ExxonMobil's Entire UK Operation
London Surgeons Complete First Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Brain Tumour Removal
UK Services Growth Rebounds as Consumer Confidence Reaches Two-Year High
Ofgem Confirms Four Percent October Energy Price Cap Increase for UK Households
Government Considers Insolvency Law Changes to Bring Thames Water Into Public Ownership
Andy Burnham Signs Artificial Intelligence Defence Pact During Visit to Kyiv
Church of England Faces Renewed Scrutiny Over Historical Safeguarding Failures
Reform UK Proposes £30 Tax Credit for Long HMRC Telephone Queues
Greater Manchester Secures More Than £100 Million to Upgrade Victorian Railway Stations
×