Suella Braverman has warned the Conservatives face “electoral oblivion in a matter of months” if they introduce emergency Rwanda legislation which is “destined to fail”.
The former home secretary delivered the warning in a personal statement to the Commons focused on what she called “mass, uncontrolled, illegal immigration” involving thousands of “mostly young men, many with values and social mores at odds with our own”.
Mrs Braverman, who was sacked from her Cabinet job last month, questioned if the UK Government under Rishi Sunak understands the “unsustainable pressure” placed on public finances and services, and the impact on community cohesion and national security.
She said the Prime Minister should be “commended for dedicating more time and toil than any of his predecessors to this endeavour” before outlining her expectations for emergency legislation to revive the Rwanda deportation scheme.
Read more: Tory minister plays down Rwanda rift between Rishi Sunak and Cleverly
The legislation attempts to enable Parliament to deem Rwanda a safe destination and address the concerns that saw the Supreme Court rule Mr Sunak’s flagship asylum policy unlawful.
But on the front page of the legislation, published this afternoon, Mr Cleverly has stated that he is “unable to make a statement that, in my view, the provisions of the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill are compatible with the Convention rights”, adding that” the Government nevertheless wishes the House to proceed with the Bill".
Mrs Braverman said: “On Monday, the Prime Minister announced measures that start to better reflect public frustration on legal migration. He can now follow that up with a Bill that reflects public fury on illegal migration and actually stops the boats.
Read more: Tory civil war erupts as UK net migration reaches record high
“It is now or never. The Conservative Party faces electoral oblivion in a matter of months if we introduce yet another Bill destined to fail. Do we fight for sovereignty or do we let our party die?”
She added: “I may not have always found the right words in the past, but I refuse to sit by and allow us to fail. The trust that millions of people placed in us cannot be discarded as an inconvenient detail.
“If we summon the political courage to do what is truly necessary, difficult though it may be, to fight for the British people we will regain their trust. And, if the Prime Minister leads that fight, he has my total support.”
Earlier in her speech, Mrs Braverman outlined her “deeper concern” about the possible substance of the Bill after noting she previously voiced concerns over the Illegal Migration Act – at one stage suggesting the latter legislation should have been scrapped in favour of a “more robust alternative that excluded international and human rights laws”.
She said: “Previous attempts have failed because they did not address the root cause of the problem: expansive human rights laws flowing from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), replicated in Labour’s Human Rights Act, are being interpreted elastically by courts domestic and foreign to literally prevent our Rwanda plan from getting off the ground.
Read more: Poll: Two-fifths of Scots want to see an increase in immigration
“And this problem relates to so much more than just illegal arrivals. From my time as home secretary, I can say that the same human rights framework is producing insanities that the public would scarcely believe.”
Mrs Braverman added: “It is no secret that I support leaving the European Convention on Human Rights and replacing the Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights that protects the vulnerable and our national security, and finishes the job of Brexit by extricating us from a foreign court and restores real parliamentary supremacy.
“But I accept that the Government won’t do that and that it’s a debate for another day.
“Crucially, when it comes to stopping the boats now, leaving the ECHR is not the only way to cut the Gordian Knot.
“Emergency legislation would enable this if it meets the following tests.”
Mrs Braverman said the Bill must address the Supreme Court’s concerns about the safety of Rwanda and enable flights before the next election by “blocking off all routes of challenge”.
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