Sir Keir Starmer predicts the Government’s Rwanda legislation will sail through a parliamentary vote on Tuesday – and indicated a Labour government could consider a third-country asylum offshoring scheme.
As Rishi Sunak battles to ward off a revolt from his MPs over his Bill, the Labour leader said he has no doubt the Tories will back it in a crunch Commons vote.
Answering questions after a major speech in Buckinghamshire, Sir Keir told reporters on Tuesday: “It’ll go through tonight, I don’t doubt. There’ll be a lot of shouting and screaming but in the end, it’ll go through…
I’ll look at any scheme that might work
“I don’t think we should allow them the indulgence of pretending it’s going to be tight and he’s done a brilliant job to get it over the line.
“He’s got an 80-seat majority, he should get it over the line very, very easily.”
Sir Keir, who has dismissed the Prime Minister’s bid to deport some asylum seekers to the African nation as a “gimmick”, signalled that he would consider a scheme under which asylum claims are processed elsewhere.
Pointing out how this would differ from the Rwanda plan, he said: “This is a straight deportation scheme in relation to people who’ve already arrived.
“Other countries around the world do have schemes where they divert people on the way and process them elsewhere. That’s a different kind of scheme.
“And, look, I’ll look at any scheme that might work.”
Labour will oppose the Safety of Rwanda Bill, a piece of emergency legislation aimed at reviving the Government’s flagship asylum policy after the Supreme Court ruled it unlawful.
