Suella Braverman has become the latest Tory rightwinger to seek a relaunch of her political career in the US with a major speech appealing for help “to make Britain Great again”.
Following in the footsteps of ex-PM Liz Truss, the former, home secretary who was sacked by Rishi Sunak, has given a speech at the Heritage Foundation in Washington DC accusing Keir Starmer of “breaking the special relationship”.
She claimed there is a need to restore sovereignty, protect British values, and end mass migration as “a fundamental step to make Britain great again.”
The location of her speech at the thinktank involved in compiling the controversial rightwing Project 2025 policy document for the Trump administration appears to be symbolic of her hopes of a political comeback.
The speech at the annual Margaret Thatcher Freedom Lecture comes amid speculation she could become a pivotal figure in bringing Reform and the Tories together in some sort of deal to defeat Labour.
Ms Braverman recently denied she was about to join Reform when her husband Raul publicly quit the Tories to join Nigel Farage’s party. But she has since been coy about her intentions and has remained distant from the new leadership under Kemi Badenoch.
In a tub-thumping speech to remind her audience of her rightwing credentials, Ms Braverman declared that the special relationship between the UK and the US “lies in tatters, all thanks to Keir Starmer and his weak, globalist, establishment first, Britain last policies.”
Ms Braverman said: “Under Keir Starmer, the UK is now more likely than ever to worship at the altar of punitive net zero policies, bend the knee at the cross of a distorted notion of human rights and submit to the will of supranational institutions rather than sticking up for the UK’s national security and long-term allies.”
She claimed that there is a battle for freedom in the UK.
“No wonder the special relationship lies in tatters,” she continued. “Because freedom is in crisis in the UK. Superficially, of course, we have an electoral system, democracy, and the rule of law,” she said.
”Look under the surface and our liberties are being shaken to the core. Because in the UK, we are in our own battle. A battle for courage and common sense. Fighting against the forces of appeasement and progressivism.”
The former home secretary - whose parents are both immigrants - returned to a familiar theme of her ministerial career blaming mass migration for Britain’s problems and claiming it is causing an “existential crisis” for the country.
She said: “In the name of multiculturism, politicians of the three main parties have consistently refused to address the elephant in the room. That millions of people coming into the UK do not have its best interests at heart and refuse to assimilate or integrate.
“Too many immigrants to the UK refuse to learn English, and many do not want to embrace the Judeo-Christian culture that defines the UK, with all of its wonderful freedoms and opportunities. Too many migrants coming to the UK today just want to ‘take, take, take’, whereas the controlled immigration of yesteryear was much more about giving.”
Ms Braverman has faced repeated criticism over her views on immigration, once branded “crazy rhetoric” that normalises the politics of Mr Farage, by a former Home Office aide.
