Suella Braverman urges Tories to embrace Nigel Farage
- Former Home Secretary would welcome the Reform UK leader into the party
Suella Braverman has told the Tories to embrace Nigel Farage as she called on the party to ‘unite the right’.
The former home secretary opened the door for the Reform UK leader to join the Conservative party by saying she would welcome him into the ranks.
Mr Farage last week blasted Prime Minister and Tory leader Rishi Sunak for his ‘dreadful’ decision to leave the D-Day 80th anniversary commemoration ceremony early.
The premier issued a grovelling apology for his ‘mistake’ in ditching the final D-Day event in Normandy to fly back to London to conduct a pre-recorded interview with ITV.
It prompted fierce backlash from political rivals and even Tory frontbencher Penny Mordaunt joined Mr Farage in putting the boot into the premier in a BBC election debate.
Suella Braverman has told the Tories to embrace Nigel Farage as she called on the party to ‘unite the right’
The former home secretary opened the door for the Reform UK leader to join the Conservative party by saying she would welcome him into the ranks
The Reform leader lashed out at the PM’s ‘dreadful’ decision to skip the event while Ms Mordaunt said it had been ‘completely wrong’ to leave the commemorations of 80 years since the beginning of the liberation of Europe from Nazi rule.
The decision left veterans in Mr Sunak’s own constituency feeling ‘disgusted’.
Yesterday, Ms Braverman, who was brutally sacked by Mr Sunak in a cabinet reshuffle in November, told The Times there was ‘not much difference’ between Mr Farage’s policies and the Tories’.
‘We need to, in the future, to find some way to work together because there shouldn’t be big differences between us,’ she said.
‘I would welcome Nigel into the Conservative party. There’s not much difference really between him and many of the policies that we stand for.
‘We are a broad church, we should be a welcoming party and an inclusive party and if someone is supportive of the party, that’s a pre-condition and they want Conservatives to get elected then they should be welcomed.’
Mr Farage came under fire today for claiming Mr Sunak doesn’t understand ‘our culture’.
In an interview with the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Mr Farage said: ‘It shows the man doesn’t understand. He is not patriotic, he doesn’t care about our history, our culture.’
Mr Farage came under fire for claiming Rishi Sunak doesn’t understand ‘our culture’ after the premier left the D-Day 80th anniversary commemorations early
Rishi Sunak issued a grovelling apology in front of TV cameras for leaving D-Day commemoration events early
Mr Sunak’s early departure from Normandy left Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron to join US President Joe Biden, France’s Emmanuel Macron, and Germany’s Olaf Scholz on Omaha Beach
In a social media post this morning, Mr Sunak admitted ‘it was a mistake not to stay in France longer – and I apologise’
The Reform UK leader insisted his comments were about class rather than race after he faced heavy backlash from across the political spectrum as he was accused of ‘dog whistle’ politics.
Work and Pensions secretary Mel Stride was left feeling ‘uncomfortable’ by Mr Farage’s remarks, while shadow justice secretary Shabana Mahmood said they were ‘completely unacceptable’.
Mr Sunak told local newspaper The Northern Echo he was ‘deeply sorry for the hurt he had caused amid his constituents living in Catterick Garrison previously saying his decision to ditch the commemoration on June 6 was ‘disgusting’.
On BBC One yesterday morning, Ms Kuenssberg said viewers ‘might imagine that you are trying, not very subtly, to emphasise the prime minister’s immigrant heritage’.
Mr Farage said: ‘I know what your question is leading at – 40 per cent of our contribution in World War One and World War Two came from the Commonwealth.
‘He is utterly disconnected by class, by privilege, from how the ordinary folk in this country feel. He revealed that, I think spectacularly, when he left Normandy early.
‘Out there now there are millions and millions of people who were Conservative voters, traditional Conservative voters, not the red-wallers, who are now thinking ‘Do we go on supporting the Conservatives or do we support Reform?’
‘This is going to be, I think, the acid test of this election.’
A Tory defeat at the general election on July 4 would spark a leadership contest with Ms Braverman expected to throw her hat into the ring for a second time.
Equalities minister Kemi Badenoch is currently the frontrunner with bookies to become the next Tory leader, with Priti Patel second favourite.
Mr Farage is ahead of Ms Braverman in the betting, having this month suggested a ‘takeover’ of the Tory party in the event of a heavy defeat for Mr Sunak.
Equalities minister Kemi Badenoch is currently the frontrunner with bookies to become the next Tory leader
Ex-PM Liz Truss (left) and Dame Priti Patel (right) have both backed Mr Farage rejoining the Tory party
He said he hoped key figures on the Right could unite under one banner if Labour wins big on July 4.
Asked if he was proposing a merger, he responded: ‘More like a takeover.’
There has been growing speculation about Mr Farage’s future and him potentially re-joining the Tories after the election in a bid to rebuild the party and drag them away from the centre and more to the Right.
Senior Tory MPs including Ms Braverman, ex-PM Liz Truss and Dame Priti have backed him re-joining the Tory fold after he quit the party 32 years ago over its stance on the European Union.
