How long before Braverman jumps ship...
Tory MP Suella Braverman has refused to rule out defecting to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, in what is yet another blow for Kemi Badenoch.
Braverman, who is on the right of the Tory party, has consistently been rumoured to be considering defecting to Reform, and is reported to be high on Reform’s wish list of Tories they would like to see defect to their party.
Towards the end of last year, her husband, Rael Braverman, defected to Reform UK, leading to increased speculation that she too could jump ship, which she ruled out at the time.
The Telegraph now reports that Suella Braverman has refused to rule out defecting to Reform, when asked to do so. The paper reports: “The former home secretary declined to say whether she will join Nigel Farage’s insurgent party, before refusing to confirm she would still be a Tory MP at the end of this Parliament.”
Braverman was asked by a reader during The Telegraph’s Politics Newsletter, whether she would ‘bring her talents’ to Reform, to which she replied: “I’m sorry, Trevor, that we failed you. We let many of our lifelong supporters, just like Trevor. We let them down on immigration, mainly, but also on other things.”
Pressed on whether she would still be a Tory MP by the end of the current Parliament, she replied: “I’m very… I am here. I’m very honoured to have been elected by the good people of Fareham and Waterlooville to be their Tory member, their Conservative member.”
The former Tory leadership hopeful also said it was the “wrong decision” for the Tories to expel Lee Anderson, who went on to join Reform, amid a row over Sadiq Khan, calling Mr Anderson “a patriot”.
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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