Nigel Mills' amendment to extend transitional restrictions on Bulgarians and Romanians has prompted government ministers to push back the government's flagship Immigration Bill for now.
The amendment would have extended transitional controls on citizens of Bulgaria and Romania until 1 January 2019. It would also have meant the UK would flout EU law, shoulder sanctions and fines, and lose influence and friends amongst newer EU member-states, and possibly some of the older ones as well.
Mills gathered enough Euro-sceptic Conservative MPs, 57 in total, to force the government into a slow-down of their most accelerated piece of legislation since coming to power.
After much prodding from Peter Bone MP and Mark Reckless MP at recent debates to bring the Bill back into the Commons for the Report Stage, which would have given MPs the opportunity to vote on the amendment, the Leader of the House, Andrew Lansley MP, dropped the Immigration Bill from his business statement.
This could mean that once the transitional restrictions on Bulgarian and Romanians are lifted on 1 January 2014, the government could nullify the amendment and try and bring its backbenchers back into the fold.
Although the Government denies delaying the bill, it is possible senior government whips advised ministers to push back the bill and avoid a potentially embarrassing rebellion from a group of Conservative MPs ready to vote in favour of the amendment. It's interesting that Labour's position may have been to once again abstain from the bill, prompting the Conservative party to play for time against its own backbenches.
Outraged Conservative MPs are headed for a collision course with government ministers after requesting a debate in the House of Commons from the Backbench Business Committee – a committee of cross-party MPs who have the ability to recommend topical debates to the Speaker – and will aim to push through a motion demanding restrictions to be placed on Bulgarian and Romanian migrants. If this debate is granted, it could be the first time Conservative MPs find themselves pitted against Government ministers on immigration policy.
Andrew Turner MP, another Euro-sceptic, has also secured a Westminster Hall Debate on Wednesday morning entitled 'the Government's policy on immigration'. This debate is likely to be crowded out by MPs demanding a stop to Bulgarians and Romanians entering the UK.
What is unclear about this issue is whether the Conservative backbenchers will actually vote against the Immigration Bill if Mills' amendment is not debated and passed. If they follow through with the threat, and Labour once again abstains from the vote, this bill could be killed off permanently at Report Stage.