- Braverman criticizes Tories for credibility loss
- Accuses party of mimicking Labour policies
- Calls for restoring grassroots member influence
As she prepares for a Conservative leadership bid, the former home secretary blasts her party for failing to win the election, accusing it of lacking credibility and criticising it for replacing Boris Johnson with the previous prime minister.
Suella Braverman criticized Rishi Sunak while appealing to grassroots Tory members ahead of the Conservative leadership contest.
The former home secretary, who was re-elected to her Fareham and Waterlooville seat, chastised her party for allowing MPs, not members, to remove Boris Johnson and replace him with Mr Sunak.
Members who chose an election-winning prime minister in the form of Boris Johnson drove our triumph in 2019; she told the Popular Conservatives convention on Tuesday.
And yet, it was MPs who deposed him and replaced him with the candidate Rishi Sunak, whose installation led us to our biggest defeat.
This was a technique of depriving people of their rights, voices, and say. This cannot be allowed to happen again.
Mr Johnson gained a strong majority in the 2019 general election but resigned following a confidence vote.
Members then elected Liz Truss, but after stepping down 45 days later, Mr Sunak became Prime Minister after Penny Mordaunt withdrew from the campaign before it could be put to a members’ vote.
Ms Braverman is now expected to be the front-runner in the current leadership race.
She appealed to grassroots Tory supporters, saying the Conservatives needed to rebuild confidence not only with the people but also within their party.
‘Members were handled poorly’
She stated that the Conservative Party’s integrity has been compromised for far too long.
Grassroots members have been marginalized, disenfranchised, and mistreated.
‘The undermining of democracy’
Ms Braverman did not mince words in her criticism of the rest of her party, claiming that local organizations “who knew their communities best” were “totally ignored and disrespected” when it came to candidate selection.
It was claimed that “inappropriate, and frankly unsuitable candidates” had been inserted “because they were friends of those within the leadership because they had worked in Number 10”.
She went on to say that our party’s democracy had been completely undermined.
Ms Braverman also stated that the party must “restore credibility on the core conservative policies that unite” members.
That includes immigration “because we’ve been weak, squeamish, and failed to address this very pressing concern.”
‘Mimicking labour’
Ms Braverman went on to claim that the Conservatives had been “mimicking Labour, it was hard to distinguish the two parties” and that the Tories needed to state that they are “unapologetic, patriotic.
We’ve been nervous for too long. We’ve been hesitant and bashful about expressing our affection for our country and aspirations, she explained.
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We must be the party that makes it obvious that we support the grafters, the strivers, and the individuals who take risks to improve their own lives, as well as the lives of their families and communities.
We want to be the party that says it doesn’t matter where you’re from but where you’re going.
“The government presided over the mutilation of children.”
Ms Braverman spoke at the National Conservatism conference in Washington, DC, on Monday, accusing “far, far too many Tory politicians” of being “liberal and progressive” by allowing the Progress Pride flag, which represents the LGBTQ+ community, to be flown on government buildings.
She stated: The Progress flag tells me one awful thing: that I was a member of a government that presided over the mutilation of children in our hospitals and schools.
