Will the Rwanda plan finally become law?

The Rwanda scheme was designed as a deterrent to small boat crossings

Four words for you today: Déjà vu. Ping pong.

The House of Lords has, yet again, glued some amendments to the government’s plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda.

It means the process of so-called ping pong continues – as the bill, the planned new law, heads back and forth between the Lords and the Commons.

The idea, and an accompanying treaty with Rwanda, are intended to prevent further legal challenges to the scheme after the Supreme Court ruled that the plan was unlawful.

But the Lords again backed a series of amendments.

It means the bill returns again to the House of Commons this afternoon.

We can expect MPs to overturn the amendments again. It will then head back to the Lords this evening.

The question is what then happens in the Lords.

The things to watch are whether the government offers anything in the way of concessions to try to make sure the bill is polished off today.

What might it say about the planned removal for those who worked with the UK military overseas, such as Afghan interpreters?

Labour are continuing to raise this.

But so far ministers have been bullish, regarding pretty much all of these amendments as ultimately trying to kibosh their entire plan.

On those who served with the military, sources say there are established routes for them to come to the UK, without needing to get on a small boat.

So can peers manage to find enough support for even one amendment to command a majority in the Lords, meaning another round of ping pong?

Some wonder if the idea that Rwanda wouldn’t be treated as a safe country until an independent monitoring body has looked into it might be able to.

If that were to happen, this whole process would trundle on until next week.

Let’s see.

Folk on various sides at Westminster think it is probably more likely the Conservatives are able to bolster their numbers later and the continued appetite from peers to gum things up for ministers wanes – and that is it.

At this point, a bill heads to the King for what is known as Royal Assent and it becomes law.

Enter then the really big question: how long before some asylum seekers are on a plane to Rwanda?