Government loses fifth vote of day on illegal migration bill as peers vote to limit detention powers over pregnant women / Peers inflict two defeats on government over illegal migration bill, including to insert protections for LGBT people in it

 

27m ago

16.48 BST

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2023/jul/03/rishi-sunak-new-conservatives-tory-suella-braverman-migration-nhs-latest-updates?filterKeyEvents=false&page=with:block-64a2eb698f08dd1985029f45#block-64a2eb698f08dd1985029f45

 

Government loses fifth vote of day on illegal migration bill as peers vote to limit detention powers over pregnant women

 

There has been a fifth division in the Lords on the illegal migration bill, and the fifth defeat this afternoon. By 226 votes to 152, a majority of 74, peers voted for an amendment to keep the current rules saying that pregnant women can normally only be kept for 72 hours in immigration detention. The bill as drafted would have relaxed this condition.

 

This time six Tories voted against the government: Lord Cormack, Lady Fall, Lady Helic, Lady Mobarik, Lady Sugg and Lady Wyld.

 

Although the government has been losing votes on the illegal migration bill by hefty margins in the Lords this afternoon, there are not many Conservative peers rebelling. In the first two divisions (see 3.49pm), there were no Tories voting against the government. In the third, just two Conservatives (Lady Sugg, a former aide to David Cameron, and Lady Helic, a former adviser to William Hague), voted with Lady Mobarik for her amendment on unaccompanied children. (See 4.01pm.) In the vote on her next amendment, on children generally, Lord Cormack was the only Tory backing her. (See 4.19pm.)

 

Peers are now voting on an amendment that would stop the bill weakening the rules that limit the detention of pregnant women.

 

Peers inflict two defeats on government over illegal migration bill, including to insert protections for LGBT people in it

On Wednesday last week the government was defeated in four votes in the House of Lords on the illegal migration bill. The fifth vote was delayed because of a problem with the machines that read cards as peers vote, and instead it took place at the start of today’s debate (the second day of the bill’s report stage).

 

The government was defeated again. By 204 votes to 168 – a majority of 36 – they voted for an amendment from the Liberal Democrats saying that, if someone is not removed within six months of their application being deemed inadmissable, the home secretary must consider their claim.

 

A few minutes later ministers lost a second time when peers voted by 216 votes to 147 – a majority of 69 – in favour of a crossbench amendment that would prevent LGBT people being deported to a country where they would have a well-founded fear of persecution, or that would be otherwise inappropriate.