Suella Braverman, former Home Secretary (Homeland Security Secretary) of the United Kingdom, has attacked her party, the Conservatives (Tories), for governing as liberals and embracing the Progress Pride flag during their 14 years in government.
“Far, far too many Tory politicians agreed, and still agree, that the Progress flag must be flown; to be kind, to be inclusive. It shows how liberal and progressive we are—and that’s what many Conservatives want us to be,” she told the National Conservatism conference in Washington, D.C.
Braverman blames the Conservatives’ dominant liberal faction, which is far to the left of the party’s ordinary members, for the electoral success of Nigel Farage’s Reform Party, which won over many former Brexit and Conservative voters who feel the party betrayed them, particularly on immigration.
Braverman penned a scathing letter to then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak after he removed her from his Cabinet last year, accusing him of repeatedly failing to deliver on immigration pledges and questioning his sincerity.
“Someone needs to be honest: your plan is not working, we have endured record election defeats, your resets have failed and we are running out of time. You need to change course urgently,” she said. Her warnings were not heeded, and the party suffered its biggest-ever general election losses on July 4.
Braverman is expected to mount a bid for the party’s leadership, running as a right-wing candidate.
The Progress flag says to me is one monstrous thing: That I was a member of a government that presided over the mutilation of children in our hospitals and from our schools.
-Former British Home Secretary @SuellaBraverman at NatCon 4 pic.twitter.com/bfUWNuBxpP
— National Conservatism (@NatConTalk) July 8, 2024
Jack Montgomery contributed to this report.