Who are the new Tory ‘bastards’ undermining Rishi Sunak?

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces a challenging week in the Commons as he attempts to see off a rebellion of up to 50 MPs who are seeking to toughen his Safety of Rwanda Bill.

Several rebel ringleaders are leading the charge aimed at putting pressure on the government, and some have done more to undermine the Prime Minister than others.

In 1993 then Tory Prime Minister John Major famously referred to right-wing Eurosceptic MPs in his cabinet who were undermining him as bastards.

Here are the key figures piling pressure on Mr Sunak from multiple sides ahead of a tumultuous week for the Prime Minister:

Lord Frost

Lord David Frost, the former Brexit negotiator, has been issuing stark warnings to his party over the past year about their hopes for the next election.

The Conservative peer is said to have been involved in commissioning a landmark YouGov poll, published in The Telegraph, which he warned showed the party was heading for “a 1997-style wipeout” at the next election.

Writing for the paper, he said that it was “too easy for complacent Tory MPs” to dismiss other polls, and said they should consider the latest survey.

“This poll shows we are going to lose, and lose bad, unless we do something about it,” he said.

In December, the Conservative peer also urged Tory MPs to consider replacing Mr Sunak as leader and asked them to consider whether the “current path can take us to an election win”.

Writing for The Telegraph, he called on his party’s MPs not “resign themselves to the coming electoral car crash” and, if they lack faith in the Prime Minister, to “be doing something about it”.

Suella Braverman

The former home secretary has been openly critical of Mr Sunak’s immigration policies since she was forced from office in November.

Speaking in the Commons shortly after her sacking, she warned that the Conservatives faced “electoral oblivion” if the Rwanda bill fails, and urged ministers to ensure it was effective by “blocking off all routes of challenge” by international courts.

Both she and Robert Jenrick, who resigned in protest over the state of the bill last month, have been working with the influential New Conservatives in recent weeks to discuss amendments to the Safety of Rwanda Bill.

Her name appears on several of the key right-wing amendments aimed at toughening up the legislation against future legal challenges, and she abstained on a vote for the bill last month.

Robert Jenrick

Robert Jenrick’s decision to resign right before the Safety of Rwanda Bill was presented to the Commons was a major blow to the Prime Minister, and he hasn’t held back in his criticisms of the legislation since returning to the backbenches.

He has tabled multiple groups of amendments, which have collectively been supported by more than 40 MPs, focused on ensuring that deportations to Rwanda are not subject to legal challenges.

He has been seen as one of the key figures on the Tory growing rebellion which some expect could take place against the Government when the bill returns to the Commons this week.

Lee Anderson

Deputy Party Chairman Lee Anderson is known for his controversial comments, but he is also one of the most popular backbench MPs among Conservative members according to a recent ConservativeHome poll.

Following the Supreme Court’s ruling that the Rwanda plan was unlawful, he told reporters that the Government should ignore international law and “put the planes in the air” to Rwanda.

“I think the British people have been very patient, I’ve been very patient, and now they’re demanding action. And this has sort of forced our hand a little bit now,’ he said in November.

“My take is we should just put the planes in the air now and send them to Rwanda and show strength. It’s time for the Government to show real leadership and send them back, same day.”

i has also learned that Mr Anderson is considering rebelling against the Government and supporting key amendments to the bill, a move which could put his role in the party in jeopardy.

As such an influential figure among Tory MPs, Mr Anderson directly challenging the Government’s position is unlikely welcomed by Mr Sunak.

Kemi Badenoch

Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch has reportedly piled pressure on Mr Sunak to toughen up the Rwanda Bill ahead of the key votes this week.

Ms Badenoch, who came fourth in the 2022 Conservative leadership race that elected Liz Truss, is frequently seen as a key contender to succeed Mr Sunak as Prime Minister.

She is said to have urged the prime minister to harden up the legislation by stopping migrants from lodging individual appeals against their deportation, according to The Times.

A popular figure among the right-wing of the party, her interventions could prove damaging to Mr Sunak as he tries to balance the competing demands of his party.

Sir Bill Cash

Veteran Eurosceptic Sir Bill Cash has led a series of amendments to the Safety of Rwanda Bill, and also led the so-called “star chamber” of legal experts convened by the ERG which concluded last month that the Rwanda bill was “a partial and incomplete solution to the problem of legal challenges”.

Leading right-winger Mark Francois even suggested on Tuesday evening that an amendment to the legislation which would protect the Rwanda plan from legal challenges from international courts should be dubbed the “Cash amendment”.

Key in the recommendations of the “star chamber” is for the legislation to ensure the UK is protected from legal challenges and injunctions from the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

Sir Bill has been an MP since 1984, and represents Stone in Staffordshire. He was the founder of the Maastricht Referendum Campaign in the early 90s, and is now chair of the Commons European Scrutiny Committee.