A Tory truce on small boats Bill – for now

THe threat of yet another civil war within the Conservative Party was averted yesterday – for now at least. However, rebel backbenchers made clear this was a ceasefire, not an armistice.

This latest flashpoint is over Rishi Sunak’s Bill to stem the tide of migrant boats, which they want see radically toughened up.

It already contains a pledge to curb the use by the european Court of Human Rights of so-called Rule 39 orders – a form of temporary injunction which was used to block migrant flights to Rwanda.

But the rebels want to go further. They have devised a series of amendments to the Bill which would remove the eCHR’s power to intervene in British domestic migration law altogether.

They point to the fact that the Rwanda flights were sanctioned by the highest court in this country and that if taking back control means anything, we must have control of our own migration system.

Both sides deserve credit for defusing a potentially explosive row – the rebels for trying to achieve their aims by negotiation, Mr Sunak for listening to their concerns.

To complicate things further, the PM has also been dealing with a separate group of Tory MPs who want a softer approach, with more ‘safe routes’ for asylum seekers – though they are few in number.

Mercifully for Mr Sunak, the rebels have said they will wait until the Bill reaches its report stage later in the spring before taking any action. An uneasy truce it may be but it’s a mature attempt at compromise – and a lot better than confrontation and outright hostility.