Suella Braverman has blamed “the coalition of chaos” of Labour, the Lib Dems and the “tofu-eating wokerati” for protests that have seen eco-warriors cause chaos on London’s roads.
The Home Secretary was defending the government’s controversial Public Order Bill which could grant police new powers to take a more “proactive” approach to disruptive protests, including a new offence of obstructing a major transport network.
Extinction Rebellion, Just Stop Oil and Insulate Britain have all employed lock on protest tactics to glue themselves to vital infrastructure and bring bridges and roads to a standstill.
Ms Braverman told MPs: “Yes, I’m afraid, it’s the Labour Party, it’s the Lib Dems, it’s the coalition of chaos, it’s the Guardian-reading, tofu-eating wokerati, dare I say, the anti-growth coalition that we have to thank for the disruption that we are seeing on our roads today.”
She called on MPs and peers to “do the right thing, respect the rights of the law abiding majority and support this bill”.
The opposition benches were cackling in laughter in response to the debate in the House of Commons.
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper branded Ms Braverman’s words “astonishing” and used the moment to seemingly compare Prime Minister Liz Truss to a protester who had glued herself under her desk.
She hit back: “The Home Secretary actually talked about a coalition of chaos, we can see it in front of us as we speak.
“You’ve got a selfish minority wreaking havoc, you’ve got someone who’s resisting all attempts by the powers that be to remove them, causing serious disruption, disorder, chaos, with serious consequences for the public, for businesses, for politics and for financial markets, but they’ve glued themselves under the desk,” Ms Cooper said.
“With honourable members opposite we wish them luck with their attempts to extricate another failing Tory prime minister from Number 10, but I suggest it isn’t a reason to change the law for everyone else.”
The Public Order Bill later cleared the House of Commons after its third reading by 283 votes to 234, a majority of 49.
It will undergo further scrutiny in the House of Lords at a later date.
The debate came as Just Stop Oil ended their Dartford Bridge protest after more than 36 hours.
In a statement the eco-protest group said: “We successfully disrupted oil supplies to Kent and the South East for 36 hours.
“We are stepping down now but other supporters will be stepping up day after day, causing disruption to demand that the government ends new oil and gas.”
