Immigration will continue to divide UK ruling party

Significance Some 37 Conservative MPs, mostly from the right-wing of the party, were recorded as not having voted. Defeat for Sunak would have been a serious blow to his leadership ahead of next year’s elections. Impacts Should Labour win the next elections, it will likely abandon the deal to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. Success or failure in implementing the scheme will influence policies in other states looking at similar ways to manage migration. The negative economic outlook will make it even more difficult for the Conservatives to reverse polling trends.