The British Conservatives’ crisis over Rwanda is a rerun of Brexit
THE ECONOMIST SAYS The conservative Party is again in a state of self-inflicted crisis. On December 6th Robert Jenrick, an immigration minister, resigned from the government of Rishi Sunak. The cause was Mr Sunak’s attempt to implement a deal with Rwanda to deport asylum-seekers who arrive in Britain on small boats. Proposed legislation to stop the courts from blocking flights to Rwanda, as they have thus far, was too weak, Mr Jenrick said.
Mr Sunak, who has been in office for only 14 months, faces a widening rift in his party over an issue that blends questions of immigration and parliamentary sovereignty. There is no guarantee that his flagship legislation will pass. If that sounds familiar, it should. The trouble Mr Sunak has found himself in over the Rwanda programme has remarkable similarities to the crisis that engulfed the Tories under Theresa May during the 2016-19 fight to implement Brexit. Once again, a weak leader, radicalised backbenchers and a fundamentally madcap policy have resulted in political misery.