THE Conservatives have rejected comparisons with the notorious late MP Enoch Powell and defended Suella Braverman's claim that Britain faced a “hurricane” of mass migration.
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said the Home Secretary was “absolutely correct” to warn about the future scale of immigration.
But some of the Braverman’s colleagues distanced themselves from her remarks, which she made at the Tory conference in Manchester on Tuesday.
They attracted comparisons with Powell’s (below) infamous “rivers of blood” speech from 1968, which saw the MP accused of inciting racial hatred.
Braverman told Tory members: “The wind of change that carried my own parents across the globe in the 20th century was a mere gust compared to the hurricane that is coming.
“Because today, the option of moving from a poorer country to a richer one is not just a dream for billions of people. It’s an entirely realistic prospect.”
Asked about her comments, Shapps told Times Radio: “So many people are from immigrant backgrounds in this country.
“I think I’m third generation myself – Suella’s first generation – so this is certainly no Enoch Powell situation, is it? To make the very obvious point.”
He added: “We’ve already seen a lot of movement – we could see a lot more – a hurricane, as she describes it, of people moving.”
Other senior Tories appeared uncomfortable with her speech when quizzed about it, with Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch (below) warning that politicians should be careful about how immigration policies are discussed, “so that people aren’t getting echoes of things that were less palatable”.
Fellow Cabinet minister Michelle Donelan later declined to repeat the rhetoric used by the Home Secretary, telling BBC Newsnight: “I would say it’s a problem, my language is different to her language.”
Former justice secretary Robert Buckland said it was important to consider the reality of global migration, but urged senior politicians to “analyse in a mature way why these things are happening”.
“We know because climate change is making it more difficult to live in these places, we have war and conflict – people are trying to escape that for a better life,” he told Sky News on Wednesday.
“I think it would be better for a home secretary to reflect about the language that they use.”
Braverman’s speech also saw Andrew Boff (above), Tory chairman of the London Assembly, removed from the event for muttering criticism as the Home Secretary spoke.
He was marched out of the venue by police and security after he rubbished her comments about the “poison” of “gender ideology”.
A Conservative for about 50 years, Boff said he felt sure she would not be chosen as the next Tory leader, despite speculation that her remarks on migration were an early leadership pitch.
“Luckily that’s not going to happen. I believe in the ultimate common sense of the party. Also, I very much hope that Suella Braverman learns about the power of her words and moderates her tone,” he told LBC.
“I’ve had so many contacts over the past few hours from people who are concerned as I am that we are using this culture war battleground to no good effect at all and we’re actually hurting people.
“And we shouldn’t be doing that as Conservatives. That’s not the Conservative Party I joined and I think we’re better than that.”
