Shropshire MPs preparing to vote on Rishi Sunak's Rwanda asylum seekers bill

The plan involves sending asylum seekers to the African nation of Rwanda and the Prime Minister is reportedly trying to find a solution that brings together different opinions in the party.

Speculation in advance of the vote tonight suggests that the Government could lose on the issue, which has not happened to a piece of Government legislation since 1986.

Shrewsbury's Daniel Kawczynski says he has his own 'reservations' about Rwanda but has praised the Prime Minister for finding a middle way during a "very, very strong debate" in the House of Commons ahead of the vote.

Mr Kawczynski said: "We have a national media like Sky News and Beth Rigby who complain if there is unanimity in politics and say that we vote like robots.

"The media also says we are divided if we go through the issues with a genuine and robust challenging of the options.

"What I have seen is politicians being very reflective of the nation as a whole.

"There has been a very, very strong debate in the House of Commons over the last few days."

Mr Kawczynski said he had his own "reservations" about Rwanda which he said was "not a country I would have selected as my first choice".

He added that he would have liked to see a "menu" of countries but that the issue is about Rwanda - and he would be supporting the Prime Minister's position in the vote.

"The Prime Minister has shown the right path. He is going down the middle path and I think it is essential that we all get behind him," he said.

A revolt by 29 Conservative MPs could be enough to defeat the Safety of Rwanda Bill - something that has not happened to a piece of Government legislation since 1986.

And even though it is not a confidence vote, Mr Kawczynski said the country could end up with a Labour government.

In his opinion this would be the worst outcome as he fears Sir Keir Starmer's party would try to "stitch us back" into the European Union and lead to the UK taking in more of the continent's illegal migrants.

Mr Kawczynski said he is "very proud" of Prime Minister Sunak who has he said taken a "quiet and methodical" approach that has seen migration deals signed with other nations.

"We have seen a reduction in illegal migrants by a third.

"I want to back the PM tonight and will be there for the whole debate to support him."

Wrekin MP Mark Pritchard has also already stated which way he is going to vote this evening. For him the legislation is tough enough for him to throw his vote behind the PM.

Mr Pritchard said: “This is the toughest Bill I have seen, seeking to reduce illegal migration, in my nearly 20 years in Parliament.

"Compare that with the Labour Party who have put forward no plan to tackle small boat crossings. I will support the Bill.

"Illegal migration must be reduced and legal migration must be managed far better. The UK benefits from migration, but not from illegal migration."

On Twitter he added that one thing all Conservative MPs could agree on was a Labour government is "not in the national interest", adding: "Further, Labour has no plan on illegal migration and the numbers would be even higher.

"This is the toughest bill I’ve seen in 20 years. Supporting the second reading is the right choice to make."

South Shropshire MP Philip Dunne is a member of the One Nation caucus of about 100 Tory members of parliament. The caucus has been recommended to vote for the Safety of Rwanda Bill.

The group is concerned about any future amendments that would mean the UK Government breaching the rule of law and its international obligations, and would oppose such amendments in the House of Commons.

Mr Dunne has not spoken to the Shropshire Star about his position but wrote about migration in July when the Illegal Migration Bill was passed. He said it was "designed to overhaul radically how we deal with people who arrive in the UK illegally from safe countries, rendering their asylum and human rights claims - in respect of their home country - inadmissible and imposing a duty on the Home Secretary to remove them.

He said: "The motivation behind these provisions is to break the business model of the criminal gangs and people traffickers who prey on the vulnerable, to disincentivise migrants from paying vast sums to criminal smugglers to facilitate illegal journeys to the UK.

"This will now allow the Government to focus on local capacity for accommodation, public services and support.

"This will complement the new agreement with Albania so the vast majority of Albanian claimants can be removed, better integration with French authorities to stop boat crossings, and the migration and economic development partnership with Rwanda last year."

North Shropshire Liberal Democrat MP Helen Morgan won't be seeking to help Mr Sunak out of his difficulties by voting for the plan.

Mrs Morgan said: "Britain needs a fair and efficient system to deal with asylum seekers.

"The Conservatives have wasted nearly £300 million on an unworkable policy. That money could have been used to create an effective system but has been wasted on sound-bites.

"The Rwanda scheme is immoral, unworkable and a waste of taxpayers' money. I will not be voting for the Government's plan."

The Shropshire Star is seeking the views of all Shropshire's MPs in advance of the vote.

This morning the Prime Minister invited the New Conservatives group to breakfast at No 10 as the Government battled to avoid a defeat over the scheme to send asylum seekers to the African nation.

A revolt by 29 Conservative MPs could be enough to defeat the Safety of Rwanda Bill at its first Commons hurdle - something that has not happened to a piece of Government legislation since 1986.

The group's co-founders, Miriam Cates and Danny Kruger, and Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson were among those in Downing Street.

But in a boost to the Prime Minister, One Nation moderates - numbering around 100 MPs - said they will recommend backing the Bill after attending a meeting addressed by Attorney General Victoria Prentis.

However, in an indication of the difficulties facing Mr Sunak as he struggles to assert authority over his party, One Nation chairman Damian Green also warned its MPs would oppose any amendments that would risk the UK breaching the rule of law and its international obligations.

Home Secretary James Cleverly used an article in the Telegraph to defend the plan overnight, writing: "After Brexit, the United Kingdom is a fully sovereign country once again - and of course we must control our borders. Anyone who agrees must support the Rwanda Bill."

The Bill allows ministers to disapply the Human Rights Act but does not go as far as overriding the European Convention on Human Rights, which Tory hardliners have demanded.

The Government's current assessment is that only one in 200 cases will successfully avoid being sent to Rwanda once the Bill becomes law.

But critics of the plan have disputed the Home Office's modelling of how effective it would be.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer dismissed the Rwanda plan as a "gimmick" and piece of political "performance art".

He told BBC Breakfast Labour would use the money "being wasted on the Rwanda scheme" to step up cross-border policing to tackle human trafficking gangs and speed up asylum claim processing, with those refused permission to stay sent back to their country of origin.

"What I wouldn't do, and what I won't vote for, is £290 million spent on a gimmick that is the Rwanda scheme, that won't work, at the very most will take about 100 people. We've got 160,000 people waiting for their asylum claims to be processed, so it's a drop in the ocean," he said.