Suella Braverman warns Tories must 'grapple with phenomenon of Reform' to win back voters

23 July 2024, 14:08

Suella Braverman on the future of the Conservative Party

Suella Braverman has said the Tories need to “grapple with this phenomenon of Reform” and take a harder line on immigration to win back voters who switched to the Nigel Farage-led party.

Suella Braverman has called on the Conservative Party to take a stronger stance against illegal immigration or face losing more support to Reform.

Speaking on LBC during Guest Host Week, Ms Braverman claimed that the widespread Conservative losses during the election are a product of "lifelong Conservatives" defecting to Reform and eating into the Tories' "core vote."

"This is a really big – dare I say – existential question and moment for the Conservatives because we’ve got a new kid on the block; we’ve got Reform.

"And Reform really did eat into our core vote at this election," the former Cabinet minister continued.

Suella Braverman criticises Labour's migration plans

She said immigration was the issue that made lifelong Tories "dump" the Conservatives for Nigel Farage's Reform UK because "they were upset with the direction that the party was going in."

“I think for us going forward as a party, we need to really grapple with this phenomenon of Reform.

“So, we need to have credibility on immigration. We need policies and a leader that actually stands for lowering immigration, stands for stopping the boats, restoring some sanity to the immigration debate.”

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The former Home Secretary also pledged her support for Donald Trump's presidential bid.

Ms Braverman declared she would vote for Trump if she were a US citizen, citing her belief that "the world will be safer" under his leadership.

"Trump's presidency is about policy, not personality," she argued.

Praising his previous term, highlighting the absence of new wars and what she perceives as a period of "peace and stability" on the global stage.

Ms Braverman also took aim at the former Conservative government, saying, “We had quite a centrist Conservative agenda actually under Rishi Sunak” and that “identity politics got out of control” under the Tories.

Speaking about the government she served in as home secretary, she said: “We had quite high levels of taxation. Immigration was quite high in terms of the actual outcomes. There was a lot of focus on trying to get the public services to work.”