After eight hours of debate on the Rwanda Bill, peers finally threw in the towel shortly after midnight. The two chambers have been engaged in a mammoth game of ping-pong for the past week, culminating in yesterday’s showdown on two final amendments. On the first of these – Lord Browne’s exemption for Afghan interpreters – the government made a concession shortly before 9 p.m. But on the second – Lord Anderson’s proposed monitoring committee to judge whether Rwanda – they did not. The crossbench peer eventually relented at 11:53p.m, conceding the time was nigh to ‘acknowledge the primacy’ of the elected chamber. And with that, the Rwanda Bill became law, pending Royal Assent from the King.

Among ministers and party managers, there was a sense of relief and pride last night that the much-derided legislation had finally became law. One pointed to the battles over the bill back in December and January, when Mark Francois and the so-called ‘five families’ were urging the government to ‘pull the bill’. There were still some Tory opponents last night in the Commons, with former Justice Secretary Robert Buckland last night backing both amendments and Jeremy Wright, the ex-Attorney General, also voting for Anderson’s monitoring committee. But for all the Tory in-fighting of the past 12 months, the whipping operation has remained effective on a hugely contentious piece of legislation. The Bill passed its final Commons hurdle by 320 votes to 276 – a majority 44.

So, what next? Detentions of migrants is expected to begin with the next few days, as part of Sunak’s plan to get flights off the ground by early July. Each migrant will be subjected to a four-step process of ‘notification, administration, relocation and transportation’. After being alerted that they are due for deportation, they will then be moved to new accommodation ahead of their flight abroad. But various charities like Care4Calais and others will launch legal challenges ‘as quickly as possible’ against moving people to Rwanda. Hundreds of volunteers will help identify people who are set to be removed to offer them legal support to try and keep them in the UK.

Among Tory MPs, opinions vary as to the likely success of Sunak’s legislation. ‘This is his “Emperor has no clothes” moment’, said one rightwing critic last night, noting the warnings of Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick. Another who thought of intervening in last night’s debate chose not to on the grounds that ‘Everything that needs to be said, has been said already.’ After months of debate, there is a sense that now is the time for the government to prove its plan works. No-one knows that more than the Prime Minister, who popped in to see his MPs at drinks hosted by the Chief Whip. With difficult local elections due in nine days’ time, every effort will be made to keep the party as unified outside the Commons as it was last night inside it. The hope will be that MPs and voters will now have a sense that there is a plan in motion – even if there is still some way to go.