Suella Braverman: Tory party’s most divisive politician is out of government – but it won’t be last we hear from her

Published

2 years ago

November 13, 2023

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And another one bites the dust. Suella Braverman – one of the most divisive politicians of the age – has been sacked as home secretary.

It marks the fourth dramatic exit from Rishi Sunak’s cabinet in just over a year – after the departures of Dominic Raab, Nadhim Zahawi and Gavin Williamson.

It’s not exactly a good look for a prime minister who promised to bring accountability, integrity and professionalism to Downing Street.

Follow live: Sunak sacks Braverman as reshuffle begins

But Ms Braverman’s fiery rhetoric on things such as immigration, policing and homelessness was starting to rile even those within her own party.

After an inflammatory article in The Times in which she accused the Met Police of bias towards left-wing protesters, and made an offensive comparison to marches in Northern Ireland, the writing was on the wall.

Tory MPs called her an “embarrassment” and “ignorant”, and accused her of being on a mission to deliberately get herself sacked in order to launch a leadership pitch.

More called for her to go on Saturday, with Scottish First minister Humza Yousaf suggesting the far-right had been emboldened by her comments, as a group of counter-protesters using slogans like ‘England til I die’ clashed with police on Armistice Day, while a pro-Palestinian demo that Ms Braverman had called to be banned went off largely peacefully.

Deliberate or not, her position in one of the most senior cabinet roles was no longer considered tenable by Number 10, who had not fully signed off the Times piece.

And so she was sacked as home secretary – and not for the first time – marking the end of a short yet turbulent career on the Conservative frontbenches… at least for now.

Born to parents from Kenya and Mauritius and fluent in French, Ms Braverman’s political brand might seem unusual for someone of her background: she has risen through the ranks championing a hard Brexit, anti-immigration, “anti-woke” agenda.

But for someone who is currently making daily headlines, she was relatively unknown until a year ago.

The 43-year-old was first elected as the MP for Fareham in 2015 and spent three years on the backbenches before a brief stint as a junior minister in the Brexit department – a post from which she resigned over the “unacceptable terms” of Theresa May’s Withdrawal Agreement.

The move won her favour with Boris Johnson, who upon being elected as prime minister made her attorney general – the chief legal advisor to the crown.

It was a fitting role for Ms Braverman, who studied Law at Cambridge University and the University of Paris before qualifying as an attorney in New York State.

During her time in the post, she faced criticism from the legal profession for backing the Internal Market Bill, which sought to override parts of the EU’s legal divorce deal and was described by critics as breaking international law.

But it was only when she was made home secretary that she really become a household name, as she repeatedly became the centre of so-called “culture wars” rows.

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Braverman’s long list of scandals

The job was marked with controversy from the beginning.

Just weeks into the post in September 2022, she declared it was her “dream and obsession” to deport refugees to Rwanda – triggering a backlash from those opposed to the controversial policy (or what Ms Braverman and her allies might like to call the “liberal elite”).

Indeed, Ms Braverman caused a stir just some weeks later as she defended the government’s controversial Public Order Bill with a bizarre attack on “the Guardian-reading, tofu-eating wokerati”, whom she blamed for protest disruption.

And her claim that the country faced an “invasion of our southern coast” in reference to Channel crossings also drew condemnation.

But the first big scandal came when just 43 days into the role, she was forced to resign – effectively sacked – because she had breached government security rules by sending an official document from her personal email to a backbench MP.

Ms Braverman said it was a mistake, but her resignation letter took aim at then prime minister Liz Truss, accusing her of breaking “key pledges that were promised to our voters”.

Read more:
Braverman’s long list of controversies

She would ultimately return to the top job just a week later under Mr Sunak, after the rapid collapse of the Truss administration.

The appointment was seen as a gamble, given Ms Braverman had originally backed Ms Truss over Mr Sunak in the leadership contest to replace Mr Johnson – after being knocked out early in the race herself.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused Mr Sunak of making a “grubby deal” at the expense of national security in order to ensure her support and keep her backers on the right of the party happy.

The PM denied the accusation, but regardless of whether that was the case, to what degree she has actually offered such support has been questionable.

Is Braverman running a leadership campaign?

While she is closely tied to the prime minister’s “stop the boats” pledge, Ms Braverman has undoubtedly proved to be a thorn in his side.

Her integrity has been called into question on many occasions, including when she was alleged to have asked her civil servants to arrange a private awareness course after she was caught speeding, and when she claimed grooming gang members are “almost all British Pakistani” – remarks seen as amplifying a far-right narrative and factually inaccurate.

Mr Sunak has been forced to distance himself from her language on several occasions, most recently declining to back her comments saying multiculturalism has “failed”, likening immigration to a “hurricane” and describing rough sleeping as a “lifestyle choice”.

So divisive have her words been that some of her colleagues have accused her of undermining the PM by running a leadership campaign, pointing to speeches at right-wing events such as the National Conservatism conference in May.

But until now, Mr Sunak has appeared unwilling to rein in his home secretary – possibly out of fear of a rebellion on the Conservative right if he takes action against her.

Ms Braverman is now free to lead that if she so wishes.

Having questioned the integrity of the operationally independent Met Police, Mr Sunak seems to have judged she has finally gone too far.

Doubling down on her description of pro-Palestinian protesters as “hate marches”, she wrote in The Times: “Right-wing and nationalist protesters who engage in aggression are rightly met with a stern response, yet pro-Palestinian mobs displaying almost identical behaviour are largely ignored even when clearly breaking the law.”

She also said: “I do not believe that these marches are merely a cry for help for Gaza.

“They are an assertion of primacy by certain groups – particularly Islamists – of the kind we are more used to seeing in Northern Ireland.”

It was enough to make even Priti Patel – Ms Braverman’s right-wing predecessor – make a not so thinly-veiled retort at the COVID inquiry about the operational independence of the police “and that we as politicians were not there to dictate directly to the police as to when to arrest people”.

Other MPs accused her of fanning the flames of hate, while Labour turned the heat on the prime minister himself and his judgement in keeping her in post.

Now she is out of government. And some people think that was her plan all along, so she can focus her efforts on being the Tory right’s next leadership candidate.

We may not know if that is true, but what is clear is that this isn’t the first time she has landed herself in hot water and, in or out of cabinet, it’s unlikely to be the last.

Politics

Sir Keir Starmer to defend budget amid claims Rachel Reeves ‘lied’ about public finances

Published

2 hours ago

December 1, 2025

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Sir Keir Starmer to defend budget amid claims Rachel Reeves 'lied' about public finances

Sir Keir Starmer will deliver a speech today defending the decisions the government made in the budget, following criticisms of sweeping tax rises and accusations the chancellor lied to the country about the state of public finances.

The prime minister is expected to set out how the budget, which saw £26bn of tax rises imposed across the economy, “moves forward the government’s programme of national renewal”, and set “the right economic course” for Britain, Downing Street says.

He will also confirm that ministers will try again to reform the “broken” welfare system, after Labour MPs forced the government to U-turn on its plans to narrow the eligibility for Personal Independence Payments (PIP) earlier this year.

‘Of course I didn’t’ lie about public finances, says Reeves

“We have to confront the reality that our welfare state is trapping people, not just in poverty, but out of work – young people especially. And that is a poverty of ambition,” Sir Keir will say.

“And so while we will invest in apprenticeships and make sure every young person without a job has a guaranteed offer of training or work, we must also reform the welfare state itself – that is what renewal demands.”

The prime minister will add: “This is not about propping up a broken status quo. Nor is it because we want to look somehow politically ‘tough’. The Tories played that game and the welfare bill went up by £88bn. They left children too poor to eat and young people too ill to work. A total failure.”

Instead, he will argue it is about “potential”, saying: “If you are ignored that early in your career, if you’re not given the support you need to overcome your mental health issues, or if you are simply written off because you’re neurodivergent or disabled, then it can trap you in a cycle of worklessness and dependency for decades, which costs the country money, is bad for our productivity, but most importantly of all – costs the country opportunity and potential.

“And any Labour Party worthy of the name cannot ignore that. That is why we have asked Alan Milburn on the whole issue of young people, inactivity and work. We need to remove the incentives which hold back the potential of our young people.”

The announcement will come after the Conservative opposition described the budget as one for “benefits street”, following the chancellor’s decision to lift the two-child benefit cap from April, at a cost of £3bn.

‘Government must go further and faster on growth’

The prime minister is also expected to launch a staunch defence of the budget overall, saying it will bear down on the cost of living through measures like money off energy bills and frozen rail fares; increase economic stability; and protect investment in public services and infrastructure that will drive economic growth.

He will argue that “economic growth is beating the forecasts”, but that the government must go “further and faster” to encourage it.

He will also reiterate his vow to scrap regulation across the economy, which he will argue is not only pro-business, but also a way to deal with the cost of living.

“Rooting out excessive costs in every corner of the economy is an essential step to lower the cost of living for good, as well as promoting more dynamic markets for business,” the prime minister will say.

He will confirm reforms to the building of nuclear power plants, after the government’s nuclear regulatory taskforce found that “pointless gold-plating, unnecessary red-tape and well-intentioned, but fundamentally misguided environmental regulation had made Britain the most expensive place to build nuclear power”.

“We urgently need to correct this,” the prime minister will say.

Business secretary Peter Kyle will be tasked with applying the same deregulatory approach to major infrastructure schemes and to accelerate the implementation of Labour’s industrial strategy.

In response, Tory shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said: “It is frankly laughable to hear the prime minister say Rachel Reeves’s Benefits Street budget has put the country on the right course and that he wants to fix the welfare system.

“His chancellor has just hiked taxes by £26bn to pay for a welfare splurge, penalising people who work hard and making them pay for those who don’t work at all. And she misrepresented why she was doing it, claiming there was a fiscal black hole to fill that she knew didn’t exist.

“Labour’s leadership have repeatedly shown they lack the backbone to tackle welfare and instead are just acting to placate their left-wing backbenchers.”

Chancellor accused of ‘lying’

Sir Mel is referring to the chancellor’s speech on 4 November in which she laid the ground for tax rises due to the decision by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to review and downgrade productivity over recent years, at a cost of £16bn, which led to a black hole in the public finances.

But the OBR revealed on Friday that it had told the Treasury days earlier that there was actually a budget surplus of £4.2bn, leading to outrage and claims that she misled the country about the state of the public finances.

Rachel Reeves was asked directly by Sky’s Trevor Phillips if she lied, and she replied: “Of course I didn’t.”

She said: “I said in that speech that I wanted to achieve three things in the budget – tackling the cost of living, which is why I took £150 off of energy bills and froze prescription charges and rail fares.

“I wanted to continue to cut NHS waiting lists, which is why I protected NHS spending. And I wanted to bring the debt and the borrowing down, which is one of the reasons why I increased the headroom.

“£4bn of headroom would not have been enough, and it would not give the Bank of England space to continue to cut interest rates.”

Ms Reeves also said: “In the context of a downgrade in our productivity, which cost £16bn, I needed to increase taxes, and I was honest and frank about that in the speech that I gave at the beginning of November.”

But Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: “I think the chancellor has been doing a terrible job. She’s made a mess of the economy, and […] she has told lies. This is a woman who, in my view, should be resigning.”

Report due on OBR breach

The tumultuous run-up to the 26 November budget culminated in the OBR accidentally publishing its assessment of the chancellor’s measures 45 minutes before the speech began, in what was an unprecedented breach of budget security.

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The chair of the OBR, Richard Hughes, apologised for the “error”, and announced an investigation into how it happened.

The chancellor has said that she retains confidence in him, despite the “serious breach of protocol”, and confirmed to Trevor that the investigation report will be delivered to her on Monday, although it is not clear when it will be published.

Politics

China reaffirms crypto ban after noticing ‘speculation has resurfaced’

Published

2 hours ago

December 1, 2025

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China reaffirms crypto ban after noticing ‘speculation has resurfaced’

China’s central bank has flagged stablecoins as a risk and has promised to refresh its crackdown on crypto trading, which it has banned since 2021.

The People’s Bank of China said on Saturday, after a meeting with 12 other agencies, that “virtual currency speculation has resurfaced” due to various factors, posing new challenges for risk control.

“Virtual currencies do not have the same legal status as fiat currencies, lack legal tender status, and should not and cannot be used as currency in the market,” the bank said, according to a translation of its statement.

“Virtual currency-related business activities constitute illegal financial activities.”

China’s central bank banned crypto trading and mining in 2021, citing a need to curb crime and claiming that crypto posed a risk to the financial system.

Bank says stablecoins of concern

China’s central bank highlighted stablecoins as a particular concern, stating that the tokens weren’t meeting legal requirements and were being used in criminal activities.

“Stablecoins are a form of virtual currency, and currently cannot effectively meet requirements for customer identification and Anti-Money Laundering, posing a risk of being used for illegal activities such as money laundering, fundraising fraud, and illegal cross-border fund transfers,” the bank said.

China, Peoples Bank of China, Stablecoin — *The People’s Bank of China, headquartered in Beijing (pictured), noted stablecoins as a concern at an inter-agency meeting on Saturday. Source:* *Wikimedia*

The bank said it would “persistently crack down on illegal financial activities” related to crypto to “maintain the stability of the economic and financial order.”

The 13 agencies that attended the meeting stated that they would “deepen coordination and cooperation” in tracking down crypto users by strengthening information sharing and enhancing monitoring capabilities.

Reuters reported on Wednesday that China had the third-highest share of Bitcoin (BTC) mining, with its market share reaching 14% by the end of October.

In August, China’s financial regulators reportedly instructed brokers to cancel seminars and stop promoting research on stablecoins over concerns that it could be exploited as a tool for fraudulent activities.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong opened the doors to licensing stablecoin issuers in July, but some tech companies suspended plans to launch stablecoins in the region after Chinese regulators reportedly intervened to pause the offerings.

Magazine: Koreans ‘pump’ alts after Upbit hack, China Bitcoin mining surge: Asia Express