Jacob Rees-Mogg: Rwanda must work and Lords should be wary

Jacob Rees-Mogg: Rwanda must work and Lords should be wary
Gabrielle Wilde

By Gabrielle Wilde


Published: 22/04/2024

- 20:57

MPs have rejected limitations to the Rwanda bill put forward by the House of Lords last week

Jacob Rees-Mogg has warned the House of Lords has no place to stop the progression of the Rwanda plan.

Speaking this evening on GBNews, he said: “The House of Lords has a clear constitutional role. It is a revising chamber. It's there to say to the House of Commons think again. It is not a political chamber. It is not a political chamber for very good reason. It's because it has no democratic mandate. You don't vote for it. I don't vote for it.

“In this instance, it's pushing things beyond the normal limits. Normally, the House of Lords will ask the House of Commons to think again once - very rarely twice, but three or possibly even four times is not what is supposed to happen. And the Lords should be wary of behaving in this way.

“I was listening to the Lord earlier today and there are some of them who are beginning to be reasonable. So there is hope that we will avert this crisis, and then the issue will be does Rwanda work?

"We've heard in the news that some airlines are being threatened with human rights claims. Well, if the airlines won't do it, we've got a Royal Air Force which has a plane or two, if necessary, the Prime Minister has a plane which could be used to take one or two of these illegal migrants to Rwanda and we need to make sure that it works as a deterrent.

“Rwanda needs to act as a deterrent. And that means getting numbers going quickly. The Prime Minister's determination expressed today is exactly what we need to hear. We will not be told what to do by a foreign court.

"Parliament has legislated and parliament is the highest form of law in this country. The sovereignty of Parliament is a fundamental part of our Constitution. It must be implemented.”

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