FORMER home secretary Suella Braverman has made a bold call for the Conservative party to unite with Reform UK, suggesting it's the only way to defeat Labour.
Speaking to the Telegraph during her visit to Washington DC for Donald Trump's inauguration, Braverman outlined her vision for a right-wing coalition in British politics.
"We do need to unite the Right. We need to come to some kind of accommodation," Braverman said, proposing various forms of alliance including "a merger, coalition, supply and confidence agreement, or non-aggression pact."
She stressed that "there isn't space in British politics for two conservative parties," adding that collaboration across the Right is "the formula to beat Labour."
The timing of her comments is particularly significant as the Tories, under Kemi Badenoch's leadership, continue to lose ground to Reform UK in recent opinion polls. Braverman endorsed several Reform policies, particularly their stance on leaving the European Convention on Human Rights and implementing a "very, very, very low and robust approach to migration."
Drawing parallels with the US politics, Braverman praised Trump's brand of "unfiltered conservatism," calling his inauguration a "seismic moment for the British Right."
She argued, "Trump has not just shifted the Overton window, he's shattered it. He's made the unsayable mainstream and he's made the radical much more acceptable to the moderates."
In a striking policy suggestion, Braverman supported Trump's withdrawal from the World Health Organisation, arguing that the UK should follow suit. She criticised the WHO for taking "a draconian approach to anti-freedom measures" during the pandemic and raised concerns about its connections to China.
On domestic issues, Braverman called for radical changes, including the abolition of the Office of Budget Responsibility, which she branded "anti-growth and pro-immigration." She also declared multiculturalism a failure and criticised Tory colleagues who had previously supported progressive causes.
Defending Reform UK supporters against criticism from within her own party, Braverman said, "I'm not one of these Tories who is going to denigrate the Reform Party for running Nuremberg rallies [as] some of my colleagues did during the general election. The people who are in Reform are largely conservatives who have lost patience with our party and that's our fault."
Her personal connection to Reform UK through her husband's defection was cited as evidence that cooperation between the parties could work. Braverman has notably refused to rule out her own potential defection to Reform UK, recently declining to confirm whether she would remain a Tory MP until the end of Parliament.
The former home secretary also criticised senior Tories, including Lord Hague and Michael Gove, for supporting Kamala Harris, calling their actions "unacceptable."
She urged the Tory party to become "radically anti-establishment" by challenging vested interests that have influenced past decision-making.
Apsana Begum
