Rishi Sunak has won the Rwanda vote but lost his credibility

The government has seen off a threatened rebellion over its plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, writes John Rentoul. But the prime minister should not view this as a win for his leadership

Rishi Sunak’s policy survived a rebellion after would-be rebels announced they would not vote down an unchanged Bill (Reuters)

The rebellion fizzled out slowly during the day. When Jacob Rees-Mogg, a leading member of the GB News faction of the Conservative Party, said he was going to vote with the government on the third reading – the important vote – on the Rwanda bill, we knew it was over.

At the rebellion’s peak yesterday, 70 Conservative MPs opposed the government when there was no chance of it being defeated. Tonight, forced to choose between passing the bill and having no bill, only 11 opposed it, while a few more bravely abstained.

So the government will get its bill on the statute book. The House of Lords will huff and puff, but it won’t blow down the convention that the unelected chamber – once it has made its points – defers to the elected one.