Robert Jenrick said time would tell whether he was right to rebel against Rishi Sunak's Rwanda Bill. Photo: David Rose
Robert Jenrick has refused to rule out a run for Conservative Party leadership.
The former immigration minister said the Tories have a path to victory in this year's general election, but it will take “the most stringent measures.” 'possible' approach to immigration.
Mr Jenrick led a revolt by Tory MPs last week against Rishi Sunak's Rwanda Bill, introducing amendments to make it tougher.
He and 10 other Conservative MPs, who were the only MPs to vote against the bill's third reading, are summoned before Simon Hart, the party's top leader, on Monday to explain their actions.
It goes like this: The Lords can vote Monday on a motion requiring the government to delay ratification of the treaty with Rwanda until it can prove the country is safe for asylum seekers.
Asked on GB News' Camilla Tominey Show on Sunday whether he would run for Tory leadership, Mr Jenrick replied: “Well, look, I don't rule it out. But that's not my intention. What I really want to do is make and hopefully win this major argument for the future of the Conservative Party.
“What I'm trying to do is make an argument, and part of it is about illegal migration. I think for too long too few politicians have argued that we need to take the most drastic action.
“And so if I can help the Conservative Party by making this argument very convincingly, then I will do it because I think there is a path to victory in the next general election. But this requires the most rigorous approach to migration.”
Mr Jenrick's amendments would have prevented individual migrants from mounting legal claims against deportation and would have blocked injunctions from Strasbourg judges to stop flights, but the government and Labor Party's opponents failed, despite the support of 60 Tory rebels.
< p>The bill itself was passed by 320 votes to 276, after just 11 Tories voted against at third reading. Most rebels refused to vote against him amid warnings it would become a credibility issue and could topple Mr Sunak.
Since then, only one MP – Dame Andrea Jenkins – has publicly admitted to submitting a letter of no confidence. Sir Graham Brady, Chairman of the 1922 Committee, although it is stated that there could be up to 29 such people.
Mr Jenrick said: “I decided to vote against the bill because I felt it was a weak bill that would ultimately not work. And now we have to see whether in August there will be more small ships crossing the English Channel, and then my argument will be proven correct and the government's argument wrong.
“But I certainly hope the Prime Minister succeeds because I want the small boats to stop. I think this does great harm. Think of the hotels, the billions of pounds wasted, the people dying in the English Channel, the smugglers who profit from this terrible trade.
“I want the small boats to stop. I believe that this can be achieved through the most decisive action, and this view has been formed after traveling around the world and observing that these are the only countries in the world that have solved this problem. Australia and Greece have chosen the most difficult path in recent years.
“That's what I proposed. The Prime Minister ultimately wanted to do it differently.”
On Sunday Grant Shapps, the defense secretary, admitted that Rwanda's deportation plan was the only way to fulfill Mr Sunak's promise to stop the boats, not stop them. their. rather than just reducing the numbers.
“It's time, you know, to stop the boats and essentially send the planes because there is no other way to solve this problem again, and I just have to say, I encourage Keir Starmer and Labor to stop obstructing and blocking Tory efforts to prevent these boats from arriving,” he said.
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