Thursday, January 18, 2024 Will Sunak be remembered for 'Rwanda'?  Most prime ministers are remembered for a single word or phrase, as The Independent editorial said this morning. Chamberlain: appeasement. Churchill: finest hour. Attlee: welfare state; Eden: Suez; Macmillan: never had it so good; Douglas Home: matchsticks; Wilson; the pound in your pocket; Heath: three-day week; Callaghan: winter of discontent; Thatcher: Falklands; Major: ERM; Blair: Iraq; Brown: financial crash; Cameron: EU referendum; May: Brexit deadlock; Johnson: Partygate; Truss: mini-Budget. At the rate Rishi Sunak is going, "Rwanda" is the single word that will attach to his name in the history books. Which is unfair, because it was Boris Johnson's policy, and Sunak had his doubts about it. But it, or "the boats", look set to dominate much of the year before the election.  Despite the prime minister saying this morning, "This is an urgent national priority," the House of Lords is planning to take until 12 March to complete the passage of the Rwanda bill.  Quiz question  Which is the oldest continuous hereditary monarchy in the world?  Answer at the bottom of today's email Daily briefing Rishi Sunak rapped by watchdog over claim to have 'cleared' asylum backlog Sir Robert Chote, chair of the UK Statistics Authority, said voters may have felt 'misled' Lord Carlile urges fellow peers to throw out 'totalitarian' Rwanda bill Crossbencher said ministers were seeking to elevate themselves 'to an unacceptable level above the law' Only 10% of voters under the age of 50 would vote Tory YouGov poll gives Labour 27-point lead, and a 50-point lead among under-50s Most commented Articles driving the biggest conversations Lee Anderson did not vote against Rwanda bill because Labour MPs 'giggled' at him What does Labour's campaign guide tell us about its policies? What else do you need to know today? ● Much of Northern Ireland is on strike, after the Democratic Unionist Party continued to block the restoration of devolved government and the £500m of public spending that it would unlock  ● Joshua Rozenberg explains why ministers would be breaking international law to ignore ECHR "pyjama injunctions", but civil servants would not ● Subscribers to The Independent can sign up for my exclusive Commons Confidential newsletter, which goes out on Wednesdays. Yesterday's included the time that David Blunkett said to Tony Blair, "Thank goodness you're not Harold Wilson and I'm not Barbara Castle!" Subscribe here; subscribers can select Commons Confidential here Reading list ● I wrote about Rishi Sunak's news conference, trying to turn the tide of opinion polls against him ● Mary Dejevsky asks: are we witnessing the opening salvos of World War III? ● Tom Hamilton says the Tory attack on the Labour leader – "Are you a terrorist in need of legal advice? Better call Keir"– is weak Inside the bubble A look back at the week in Westminster The Commons is sitting tomorrow, for private members' bills, but the View from Westminster newsletter will continue to take Fridays off, so I will be back on Monday.  This was the week when Rishi Sunak won a Pyrrhic victory in the true sense of the word: a victory won at too great a cost. He got the Rwanda bill through the Commons with a comfortable majority of 44, but on the way he lost the support of 60 Conservative MPs. They defied the government whip to try to amend the bill, even if most of them came back into line to vote for the bill when they failed.  The debate advertised Tory divisions, but also weakened the bill's deterrent effect, in that so many Tories say it will be ineffective in trying to remove asylum seekers to Rwanda.  Quotation of the Day "I'm too old to be a British politician and too young to be an American politician." Gordon Brown, 72 Quiz answer: Japan, documented since Emperor Kinmei in the 6th century AD, although legend goes back to Emperor Jimmu in 660 BC.  Apologies for the Tory-chaos-inspired amnesia in yesterday's question – there have of course been two female foreign secretaries, Margaret Beckett and Liz Truss The Independent proudly partners with Refuge and the National Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0808 2000 247 Join the conversation or follow us Download the free Independent app Please do not reply directly to this email   You are currently registered to receive The Independent's View From Westminster newsletter.   To unsubscribe from The Independent's View From Westminster newsletter, or to manage your email preferences please click here.   This e-mail was sent by Independent Digital News and Media Ltd, 14-18 Finsbury Square, London EC2A 1AH. Registered in England and Wales with company number 07320345 Read our privacy notice and cookie policy