Braverman becomes 8th Reform MP after deflection
By Connor Steel
FAREHAM AND WATERLOOVILLE MP, Suella Braverman, has announced that she has resigned the ‘whip’ within the Conservative Party and is now representing Reform UK with immediate effect; the former Home Secretary making this news public on Monday afternoon as she joined Nigel Farage in her unveiling rally and speech held in Central London.
She becomes the third sitting Tory MP to ‘deflect’ to Reform after Robert Jenrick and Andrew Rosindell throughout this month whilst this confirmation ends a thirty-year membership within the party. In this time she has been a constituency MP since first being elected in May 2015 and has followed with three successive General Election victories in 11 years.
Ms Braverman was Attorney General under Boris Johnson and was made Home Secretary under Liz Truss’ leadership in 2022, but was forced to resign this role after sending an official document using a personal email. She was however brought back to the job by Rishi Sunak days later and lasted thirteen months before being removed in November 2023.
She is now the eighth MP representing Reform UK in the House of Commons and offers cabinet experiences for Nigel Farage, who said that he had been talking to Ms Braverman about deflection for “just over a year”. She had previously been tipped as a “potential deflector” since the Tory party suffered a crushing defeat in the 2024 Westminster Election.
The MP explained her feelings: “Loyalty demands honesty and honesty compels me to say this today Britain is indeed broken. She is suffering. She is not well.” Ms Braverman also gave her opinions about the current state of this country with Labour adding that: “Immigration is out of control. Our public services are on their knees. People do not feel safe”.
Ms Braverman further talked about her former party, and stated that they had “utterly failed to do the right thing for the British people”. The Conservatives were criticised as they reacted by referencing her “mental health” in their reactions, whilst a Liberal Democrat said she “complains about broken Britain while conveniently forgetting they helped break it.”
In this speech, Ms Braverman referenced her constituency and local areas as she said that many will be “disappointed about this”. Fareham Borough Council Leader, Simon Martin, stated that he was “not impressed” with the news saying, “If she feels she needs to do this, so be it. The Conservatives here will be focused on delivering services for Fareham.”
Readers are encouraged to explore media links like BBC News, Sky News and ITV News for fresh developing updates on this breaking story; whilst information may further be seen via her constituency website in due course. Full video of her speech and a later press conference with Nigel Farage held later on Monday can be viewed via YouTube channels.
PICTURED BY ALAMY (3DJDBEX): Suella Braverman speaks at Monday’s events as she deflects to Reform UK party.
