Rishi Sunak narrowly avoided disaster with his Rwanda policy but the political headache is only beginning... read all about it in this week's Who's Top Who's Not.
Flying high: David Davis
They say that not all heroes wear capes and that is certainly true of David ‘The Defender’ Davis MP.
The former Brexit Secretary and SAS reservist was on his way home when a pair of hooligans chased and attacked a rough sleeper. Davis saw off the two attackers and took the victim back to his flat and cleaned up his injuries. He gave him a sofa for the night and took him to A&E in the morning. Davis's heroics will certainly earn him a spot on Santa’s good list this year.
Middle of the road: Rishi Sunak
Risky Sunak has been skating on thin ice and narrowly avoided a leadership crisis with his sinking Rwanda policy during a tight vote this week. The good news for Sunak is the government won the vote and his flagship Rwanda asylum scheme progressed to the next legislative stage.
His policy stays afloat for now, but it is just the beginning. He will have to appease the various fractious groups within the Conservative Party as they all call for contradicting amendments. The One Nation Conservatives are concerned the Rwanda bill sets aside some of the UK’s obligations in international law, warning Sunak not to toughen it further.
Meanwhile, Conservative groups on the right of the party will all be looking to table significant amendments in the new year to make the Bill even tougher.
It will be a difficult balancing act for Sunak and it’s unclear where he can go with this. But for Keir Starmer, it will be the Christmas gift that keeps on giving, especially as the different Tory factions tear into each other whilst Labour just waits to vote against the final bill, if and when it comes.
Slowly sinking: Scott Benton
Scott Benton will be getting more than coal in his stocking this year and he is very much on Father Christmas’s naughty list.
The ex-Conservative MP for Blackpool South faces a 35-day suspension for his “very serious breach” of standards rules. The Commons Standards Committee report said he had given the message “he was corrupt and ‘for sale’”. If MPs approve the suspension, which is likely, it will lead to a recall petition and a probable by-election.
Benton currently has a majority of 3,690, meaning Keir Starmer will be licking his lips as a by-election will almost certainly see the seat turn red. This would be in addition to the potential by-election in Wellingborough next year, after the suspension of former Tory MP Peter Bone over bullying and sexual misconduct allegations. A steady drumbeat of by-election losses will create a negative narrative for the start of a crucial year for Sunak.