Suella Braverman's 'racist rhetoric' condemned by senior Tories

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
14 Apr 2023 08:38

A former senior minister accuses Home Secretary of weakening the party in order to further her personal leadership aspirations.

British Secretary of State for the Home Department Suella Braverman in London, Britain, March 21, 2023. (Reuters)

Top UK Conservative Party members have condemned Suella Braverman's "racist rhetoric," accusing her of sabotaging the party in order to further her personal leadership ambitions.

On Thursday, Rishi Sunak was under pressure to act to safeguard the party's credibility after the home secretary incited additional outrage by criticizing police for seizing a pair of golliwogs exhibited in an Essex bar.

Conservative MPs, Lords, and campaigners have accused Braverman of inflaming racial tensions on many occasions in recent months, expressing concern that she is now risking alienating the sorts of swing votes the party desperately needs.

In November, Braverman was slammed by UN rights chief Volker Turk for her dehumanization of migrants.

Another minister called her "a real racist bigot."

The anonymous source added “the country is not as grotesque as she makes it out to be”, warning that the “Conservative reputation on discrimination has dropped to a new low” under her watch – “which also gives the country a bad name”.

The criticism echoes significant outrage among Conservative MPs and peers over Braverman's frequent use of racially inflammatory language.

Earlier this month, the home secretary said that grooming gangs were almost entirely comprised of British Pakistani males who “hold cultural attitudes completely incompatible with British values”.

Tory peer Sayeeda Warsi wrote to The Guardian, “Whether this consistent use of racist rhetoric is strategy or incompetence, however, doesn’t matter. Both show she is not fit to hold high office.”

Albie Amankona, co-founder of the group, Conservatives Against Racism For Equality (CARFE) commented, “I think that something isn’t happening properly if a minister on a weekly basis is in the news for some kind of racial insensitivity. “She should just focus on the important things in the Home Office, like reforming the police or trying to stop the boats rather than trying to get tied up in these culture war debates."