Rishi Sunak’s ‘stop the boats’ bill is an election gamble fraught with risk

Tory critics of PM’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda say failure could do lasting damage to party

Rishi Sunak’s proposed bill – which hopes to fulfil his promise to “stop the boats” – is part of a significant gamble which aims to pull off an unexpected Conservative win at the next general election. The prime minister is claiming he can break the business model of human traffickers by sending asylum seekers to central Africa in their thousands.

If all the pieces fall into place – and his supporters admit there are many pieces – the bill will pass through parliament, legal challenges against the plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda will be dismissed by UK and Strasbourg courts, the Rwandan government will build homes for thousands of asylum seekers and an airline will be found to fly them.