Dorset MPs vote in favour of Illegal Migration Bill

The government won the first vote for its new bill, which could grant the Home Office legal powers to remove people coming into the UK illegally, usually on small boats across the Channel, back to the initial country. 

Dorset’s conservative MPs, including Tobias Ellwood (MP for Bournemouth East), Conor Burns (MP for Bournemouth West), Sir Robert Syms (MP for Poole), Michael Tomlinson (MP for Mid Dorset and North Poole), Sir Chris Chope (MP for Christchurch), Simon Hoare (MP for North Dorset), Richard Drax (MP for South Dorset) and Chris Loder (MP for West Dorset) all voted in favour of the new laws. 

Suella Braverman, home secretary (Image: PA)

The House of Commons voted 312 to 250, majority 62, to give the bill a second reading. 

The bill would enable powers to be granted to detain migrants for 28 days without recourse for bail or judicial review, and then indefinitely for as long as there is a “reasonable prospect” of removal. 

Challenges based on modern slavery laws would be barred, and any other legal attempt to stay would be heard overseas – after they are removed. 

Conor Burns, MP for Bournemouth West, said he “strongly” welcomes the announcement, noting illegal immigration “has to stop”. 

Poole MP Sir Robert Syms, said he was “very supportive” of the new bill, and described how immigration was “one of the biggest issues” he had come across in his constituency.

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Tobias Ellwood, MP for Bournemouth East, said: “There remains a lot of practical details to address if this is to work”. 

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said the legislation is needed as people arriving in the UK after crossing the Channel have “overwhelmed our asylum system”, before adding there has been “too much” immigration in recent years. 

Ms Braverman also said she has been subject to the “most grotesque slurs” for saying “simple truths” about the impact of migration on the country. 

Labour tabled an amendment which sought to block the Bill but it was defeated by 249 votes to 312, majority 63. 

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper, writing on Twitter, said: “The Tories Migration Bill is a con that will make chaos worse.”