Rishi Sunak has managed to see off a rebellion over his Safety of Rwanda Bill, but the battles within his party are far from over.
Despite fears they would vote against the Government, members of several groups on the right wing of the party chose to abstain in the Commons on Tuesday, allowing it to pass its Second Reading by 313 votes to 269.
Mr Sunak and his whips managed to cool the situation, but it was clear that there were fears the Prime Minister would not be able to call the rebels’ bluff, with one minister flown back early from the COP28 summit in Dubai to boost numbers in the vote.
With the Prime Minister still facing a new year battle over his Rwanda bill, here are the rebel ringleaders that he will have to contend with:
Danny Kruger
Danny Kruger, the de-facto co-leader of the New Conservatives, has been among those leading the charge to get the Rwanda legislation to be toughened further.
His group represents mainly “Red Wall” MPs, many of whom have long seen tackling immigration as one of the most important issues for their voters.
Such is the group’s influence, Mr Kruger and other members were invited to a breakfast meeting at No 10 on Tuesday as the Prime Minister tried to see off a potential rebellion.
But he was not swayed, telling MPs during the debate that afternoon that the bill was “unsatisfactory”, and calling for ministers to pull it entirely so it could be reworked.
He was also in attendance at the meeting of the “five families” (the five factions of Tory MPs who have problesm with the bill) on Monday, where right-wing MPs discussed their concerns, and their desire for it to go further to protect it from legal challenges in the courts.
He abstained on the vote on the Rwanda legislation, as did many of his fellow members of the New Conservatives, after various right-wing Tory MPs collectively agreed they would not rebel on the vote on the proviso that it could be toughened up later.
Mr Kruger is MP for Devizes in Wiltshire and was first elected in 2019. His previous roles in the party include beinge was political secretary to then prime minister Boris Johnson, and David Cameron’s chief speechwriter. He also worked at a youth crime prevention charity he had co-founded, Only Connect.
Miriam Cates
Alongside Mr Kruger, Miriam Cates fronts the New Conservatives, which has grown significantly in influence since being founded earlier this year.
She was also seen walking out of No 10 on Tuesday morning, and joined members that afternoon when the “five families” of Tory met again on Tuesday evening.
Speaking on behalf of the group, shortly before the division bell was rung for the Rwanda vote, Ms Cates said that the legislation was “defective”, adding: “We don’t believe it will stop the boats. There are too many opportunities for legal challenge. We do support the principle of the bill, which is to stop the boats.”
She was among the 38 Tory MPs who abstained on the vote, and is set to play a leading role in efforts to toughen up the legislation going forward.
The MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, in South Yorkshire, was elected in 2019. She has previously worked as a science teacher and finance director.
Mark Francois
The outspoken chairman of the European Research Group (ERG) has played an integral role in bringing together various factions on the Tory right and uniting them under the banner of strengthening the Rwanda legislation.
Mr Francois announced on Tuesday evening, much to the relief of Mr Sunak, that the MPs he had convened had collectively decided to abstain, rather than rebel en masse.
He told journalists the groups “cannot support” the bill, but said the group would “aim to table amendments” at the committee stage. He himself also abstained on the bill vote.
Mr Francois then delivered the key threat to the Prime Minister, stating that if the amendments were not acceptable, the rebel MPs “reserve the right to vote against it at third reading.”
The previous day, he had also been pushing for the bill to be pulled completely and reworked, claiming the issue needed “a piece of legislation which is fit for purpose” and that “as the bill is currently drafted, it isn’t”.
The former defence minister and armed forces minister has represented the Essex constituency of Rayleigh and Wickford since 2001.
David Jones
Former Cabinet minister David Jones, deputy chairman of the ERG, has also been key in leading criticisms of the Rwanda legislation, and abstained in the vote.
Speaking in the Commons debate, he urged ministers to tell MPs that “the Government is open to amendments” due to the many concerns about the bill.
“At the moment, there are numerous deficiencies that have been identified in the report of the so-called star chamber that will, I believe, render this bill inoperable and ineffective,” he said.
“The last thing we want to do as a House is to expend a lot of time and a lot of agony over putting in place a bill that doesn’t result in the flights to Rwanda and the deterrence that we need to illegal migrants.”
His tone was a little more conciliatory than Mr Francois, claiming MPs would “listen very carefully” to what ministers had to say, but he has been unequivocal in his suggestions that he’s not satisfied with the current state of the bill.
The Clwyd West MP has been in the Commons for 18 years and has held several ministerial posts.
Sir Bill Cash
Veteran Eurosceptic Sir Bill Cash has been leading the so-called “star chamber” of legal experts convened by the ERG, which concluded on Monday that the Rwanda bill was “a partial and incomplete solution to the problem of legal challenges”.
Mr Francois even suggested on Tuesday evening that an amendment to the legislation which would protect the Rwanda plan from legal challenges from international courts should be dubbed the “Cash amendment”.
Key in the recommendations of the “star chamber” is for the legislation to ensure the UK is protected from legal challenges and injunctions from the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
Sir Bill has been an MP since 1984, and represents Stone in Staffordshire. He was the founder of the Maastricht Referendum Campaign in the early 90s, and is now chair of the Commons European Scrutiny Committee.
Sir John Hayes
Sir John leads the Common Sense Group, one of the “five families” that have been meeting this week. He joined other right-wing colleagues in abstaining on the vote.
He is a close ally of former home secretary Suella Braverman, and has echoed her calls for the legislation to be significantly changed to prevent legal challenges.
Speaking just minutes before the vote on Tuesday, he said the legislation was not “fit for purpose” but that he and other colleagues would give the Government a chance to listen to its concerns.
The former minister represents South Holland the The Deepings in Lincolnshire – the safest Tory seat in the country – and was first elected in 1997.
He is among several other influential group leaders who have organised their members’ efforts to oppose the bill, with others including Northern Research Group (NRG) chair Sir Jake Berry and former Cabinet minister Sir Simon Clarke.
Suella Braverman
The ousted home secretary hasn’t held back in her criticism of Mr Sunak’s immigration policies since she was forced from office last month.
Speaking in the Commons last week, she warned that the Conservatives faced “electoral oblivion” if the Rwanda bill fails, and urged ministers to ensure it was effective by “blocking off all routes of challenge” by international courts.
She repeated this position in an article for for ConservativeHome on Tuesday, claiming that she would only vote for the legislation if it disapplied the “entirely of the Human Rights Act and European Convention on Human Rights” as well as other international obligations such as the Refugee Convention.
Both she and former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, who resigned in protest over the state of the bill last week, have met with the influential New Conservatives in recent weeks to discuss the legislation.
Ms Braverman, who is MP for Fareham, and Mr Jenrick abstained in the vote on Tuesday.
Damian Green
The One Nation Conservatives, a 100-strong caucus of centre-right Tory MPs, gave Mr Sunak a reprieve on Monday when it announced that its members would support the Rwanda Bill in the Commons.
But, while its leader Damian Green has proved a rebel ringleader up until now, his position could prove crucial if the right of the party gets it way and pushes to toughen the legislation.
Speaking on Monday evening, he said that the group would withdraw its support if “anyone brings forward any amendments that breach our international obligations or breach the rule of law”.
He vowed that the One Nation group would vote down such amendments – the kind being pushed for by many among the Tory right – and urged the Prime Minister to “stick to its guns and stick to the text of this bill”.
The experienced former Cabinet minister was first secretary of state under Theresa May and has represented Ashford in Kent since 1997.
All the Tory rebels who abstained on the Rwanda bill
- Jake Berry – Rossendale and Darwen
- Suella Braverman – Fareham
- William Cash – Stone
- Miriam Cates – Penistone and Stocksbridge
- Rehman Chishti – Gillingham and Rainham
- Simon Clarke – Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
- Theo Clarke – Stafford
- Sarah Dines – Derbyshire Dales
- Richard Drax – South Dorset
- James Duddridge – Rochford and Southend East
- Tobias Ellwood – Bournemouth East
- Natalie Elphicke – Dover
- Mark Francois – Rayleigh and Wickford
- Chris Green – Bolton West
- Jonathan Gullis – Stoke-on-Trent North
- John Hayes – South Holland and The Deepings
- Adam Holloway – Gravesham
- Tom Hunt – Ipswich
- Robert Jenrick – Newark
- Caroline Johnson – Sleaford and North Hykeham
- David Jones – Clwyd West
- Danny Kruger – Devizes
- Marco Longhi – Dudley North
- Craig Mackinlay – South Thanet
- Stephen McPartland – Stevenage
- Robin Millar – Aberconwy
- Jill Mortimer – Hartlepool
- Jesse Norman – Hereford and South Herefordshire
- John Redwood – Wokingham