Braverman accuses Sunak of being ‘uncertain, weak and lacking in leadership’ over threat posed by extremism
Braverman then turns in her letter to the row about the pro-Palestinian marches. She says:
Another cause for disappointment – and the context for my recent article in The Times – has been your failure to rise to the challenge posed by the increasingly vicious antisemitism and extremism displayed on our streets since Hamas’s terrorist atrocities of 7 October.
I have become hoarse urging you to consider legislation to ban the hate marches and help stem the rising tide of racism, intimidation and terrorist glorification threatening community cohesion. Britain is at a turning point in our history and faces a threat of radicalisation and extremism in a way not seen for 20 years. I regret to say that your response has been uncertain, weak, and lacking in the qualities of leadership that this country needs. Rather than fully acknowledge the severity of this threat, your team disagreed with me for weeks that the law needed changing.
As on so many other issues, you sought to put off tough decisions in order to minimise political risk to yourself. In doing so you have increased the very real risk these marches present to everyone else.
autumn statement next Wednesday. He went on:</p>","elementId":"cac64d3b-f179-46ce-9722-f7f62b302bd0"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"<blockquote class=\"quoted\">\n <p>Across all of that I’m confident that we can demonstrate to the country that we are making progress on the priorities that I set out at the beginning of the year – to halve inflation, grow the economy, reduce debt, cut waiting lists and to stop the boats.</p>\n</blockquote>","elementId":"200d00a8-bdb3-4ba5-884c-b6e24bc4f35c"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"<p>But their ambitions went further than that, he said. He said the cabinet would make the “big, bold decisions that will drive change”. And he ended saying:</p>","elementId":"18e33cec-74ac-45e2-8d85-5ef801ab4d16"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"<blockquote class=\"quoted\">\n <p>Looking around this table, I know that we have an energetic and enthusiastic team that is going to deliver for the country. So, let’s get to work.</p>\n</blockquote>","elementId":"7369f809-e314-4658-97b9-98f9597ce921"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement","media":{"allImages":[{"index":0,"fields":{"height":"1082","width":"1922"},"mediaType":"Image","mimeType":"image/jpeg","url":"https://media.guim.co.uk/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/1922.jpg"},{"index":1,"fields":{"isMaster":"true","height":"1082","width":"1922"},"mediaType":"Image","mimeType":"image/jpeg","url":"https://media.guim.co.uk/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg"},{"index":2,"fields":{"height":"563","width":"1000"},"mediaType":"Image","mimeType":"image/jpeg","url":"https://media.guim.co.uk/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/1000.jpg"},{"index":3,"fields":{"height":"281","width":"500"},"mediaType":"Image","mimeType":"image/jpeg","url":"https://media.guim.co.uk/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/500.jpg"},{"index":4,"fields":{"height":"79","width":"140"},"mediaType":"Image","mimeType":"image/jpeg","url":"https://media.guim.co.uk/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/140.jpg"}]},"data":{"alt":"Rishi Sunak addressing cabinet","caption":"Rishi Sunak addressing cabinet.","credit":"Photograph: Sky News"},"displayCredit":true,"role":"inline","imageSources":[{"weighting":"inline","srcSet":[{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=63abb3b3e892e12dbaa49a2e982e1f28","width":620},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=8f0f673a0721ad29cc560dcb4ecb6d44","width":1240},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=434ef264015b9104570e8eeb46f0f762","width":605},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=c1b8a32fe2465acdd65b690332b5216a","width":1210},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=a9eb9d13206db24220783fccef41e038","width":445},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=03f8440a3833e57daaa6cb86e6ce586f","width":890}]},{"weighting":"thumbnail","srcSet":[{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=6fa4067abd3b89e4e9cac3d40fca70c7","width":140},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=140&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=be88f04c3d02e06ff4777bc8c874a0d8","width":280},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=120&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=68cc93dcb4ae3c99c39645cf7c13f0e8","width":120},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=120&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=367e3bb6b545e8dc181ed18c746e22bd","width":240}]},{"weighting":"supporting","srcSet":[{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=380&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=04a8474f2bf40c79e20cf1ff49ea392c","width":380},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=380&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=b8af54b267c608938c439ba29a053e8d","width":760},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=9ec6193bad5bc19705e5a5f585549a4a","width":300},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=300&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=4eab3cfc4b381ec8fa6ea8a98bee3180","width":600},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=63abb3b3e892e12dbaa49a2e982e1f28","width":620},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=8f0f673a0721ad29cc560dcb4ecb6d44","width":1240},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=434ef264015b9104570e8eeb46f0f762","width":605},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=c1b8a32fe2465acdd65b690332b5216a","width":1210},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=a9eb9d13206db24220783fccef41e038","width":445},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=03f8440a3833e57daaa6cb86e6ce586f","width":890}]},{"weighting":"showcase","srcSet":[{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=860&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=15fd02e62b23bda3877b635b5622b2e2","width":860},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=860&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=ca9252d8568597310fcc7719ab28ebe7","width":1720},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=780&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=40f09eb1613113342ab2946ce8fcb46f","width":780},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=780&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=2fa89b4e1997ad618ba6d9a447d0195a","width":1560},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=63abb3b3e892e12dbaa49a2e982e1f28","width":620},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=8f0f673a0721ad29cc560dcb4ecb6d44","width":1240},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=434ef264015b9104570e8eeb46f0f762","width":605},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=c1b8a32fe2465acdd65b690332b5216a","width":1210},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=a9eb9d13206db24220783fccef41e038","width":445},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=03f8440a3833e57daaa6cb86e6ce586f","width":890}]},{"weighting":"halfwidth","srcSet":[{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=63abb3b3e892e12dbaa49a2e982e1f28","width":620},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=8f0f673a0721ad29cc560dcb4ecb6d44","width":1240},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=434ef264015b9104570e8eeb46f0f762","width":605},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=c1b8a32fe2465acdd65b690332b5216a","width":1210},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=a9eb9d13206db24220783fccef41e038","width":445},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=03f8440a3833e57daaa6cb86e6ce586f","width":890}]},{"weighting":"immersive","srcSet":[{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=1900&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=df919dd649a4addb4ee4600a44c5af28","width":1900},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=1900&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=1575517e8945ecda797be9e1c83b38c7","width":3800},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=1300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=81225016cb57a53e1e2c421f78c54b8f","width":1300},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=1300&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=1df1cea2b4d8b45bc3971448c52f64cb","width":2600},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=1140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=f720329ac21c8890cab2f8574d8ac5db","width":1140},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=1140&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=584e8b89d882afbe1f5b1694fe2a1c85","width":2280},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=980&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=347e842f8cd6e887948de0ea328a2e36","width":980},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=980&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=68717704f0a252f19ae058c5fe1eb1e2","width":1960},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=740&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=e2450740a8ee7cbbf0fbda7b4976e0ca","width":740},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=740&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=b25b4036b732165a7a12966e1806b612","width":1480},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=660&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=bea7f8b4d239da210a4dddd52cfb480a","width":660},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=660&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=4b74de5f6d573cbe87c45955525e1b04","width":1320},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=480&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=848c7e89afa507450a7786c7eed10097","width":480},{"src":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/630027e5ec8adb0c1a3c6c2782ee27d2a36f87a6/0_0_1922_1082/master/1922.jpg?width=480&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=ff0396311e95b68bec64b1be43d0aeb2","width":960}]}],"elementId":"22551f0d-e4e2-4a22-bbce-3df7768ae987"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1699955800000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"04.56 EST","blockLastUpdated":1699956341000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"05.05 EST","blockFirstPublished":1699956125000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"05.02 EST","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"05.02","title":"Sunak tells his new cabinet they are 'strong and united team' as they meet for first time","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Tue 14 Nov 2023 14.41 EST","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Tue 14 Nov 2023 04.54 EST"},{"id":"65532e868f08bbf5dbce17da","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"<p>Good morning. Yesterday’s reshuffle was more surprising than expected, largely because of the return of <a href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/politics/davidcameron\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">David Cameron</a>, but also because it suggests that Rishi Sunak has chosen to tack towards governing more as a mainstream, centrist Conservative, to abandon trying to present himself as a radical, “change” candidate, and to pull back from a lurch towards “red wall” Toryism.</p>","elementId":"71a1caeb-a571-40a7-b230-ebe10af9f0f6"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"<p>There was one concession to the red wallers. Although the very rightwing Suella Braverman was out, another rightwinger popular with the GB News demographic (she presents a show there) was in. Esther McVey, the former work and pensions secretary who was born in Liverpool, has been <a href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/nov/13/sunak-seeks-to-appease-tory-right-by-giving-esther-mcvey-ministerial-role\">made a Cabinet Office minister</a>. According to a briefing <a href=\"https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/politics/24724219/esther-mcvey-named-anti-woke-minister/\">to the Sun newspaper</a>, she will serve as the <strong>“</strong>common sense tsar” tasked with “tackling the scourge of wokery”.</p>","elementId":"fb14b623-177b-434c-94b7-8d20fe2c5c82"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"<p>But will she? <strong>Richard Holden</strong>, the new Conservative party chairman was doing interviews this morning and on the Today programme at one point he appeared to confirm that McVey is the new Braverman. Asked about McVey’s job, Holden said: “What Suella … what Esther is going to be doing ….” The presenter, <strong>Nick Robinson</strong>, described it as a Freudian slip.</p>","elementId":"65378294-e44d-407e-b527-1f9560aa261a"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"<p>However, <strong>Holden</strong> was reluctant to describe McVey as a common sense minister who will wage war on wokeism. In an interview with Times Radio, asked if McVey would be vetting “woke” policies, Holden replied: “I think all of us will be looking at all policy in the round.” And when it was put to him that she was in government to represent “anti-woke opinion”, Holden replied:</p>","elementId":"192bd5c8-650b-4bee-b56d-f4c1f7739858"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"<blockquote class=\"quoted\">\n <p>No, it’s there to represent – I know Esther, I know her husband Philip [Davies] very well – they have various different views on a wide range of different topics just like other MPs do as well. And I think to try and put people into little pockets of one thing or another, I don’t think is fair.</p>\n</blockquote>","elementId":"3a570031-418c-449c-b095-1d3667aca471"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"<p>And on the Today programme, when <strong>Robinson</strong> asked what being minister for common sense might mean, <strong>Holden</strong> did talk about freedom of speech on universities, but also stressed that the Conservative party was “a broad church … with a common goal”.</p>","elementId":"080faeff-78ce-4f76-9fba-62df2ae4395f"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"<p>The briefing about McVey being a “common sense tsar” was clearly intended to appeal to rightwingers but, in a further sign that the gambit may have failed, <strong>Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg</strong>, the former business secretary and a fellow GB News presenter, described the label attached to McVey by the Sun as “silly”. He told Times Radio:</p>","elementId":"bd4c4f0a-98e3-45cf-a681-af2895ad94ab"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"<blockquote class=\"quoted\">\n <p>I welcome Esther’s return because I think she’s highly capable and a good presenter of the Tory cause. I think having a minister for woke is silly and I think it’s deeply regrettable that a minister of the calibre and quality of Jeremy Quin, who was in the Cabinet Office, has been lost to the government and they brought in somebody with a silly title. I think it’s an extraordinary thing to do and is not serious, but Esther is a very good person and to have her in the cabinet is a good thing.</p>\n <p>I think silly titles for government posts is a Blairite thing. That is not the proper business of government ..<strong>. </strong>This is ridiculously tokenistic, won’t impress anybody.</p>\n</blockquote>","elementId":"2f24eb95-025f-4f84-aca5-1ca8f38f161b"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"<p>Rees-Mogg himself was once minister for “Brexit opportunities and government efficiency”. Given that critics felt both of those concepts were fictions, that title was controversial too.</p>","elementId":"d6afb059-f8c2-408c-9068-e51db5307d51"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"<p>Here is the agenda for the day.</p>","elementId":"941788f8-874c-49ce-b052-dadbb525e3d4"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"<p><em>9.30am:</em> <a href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/politics/rishi-sunak\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Rishi Sunak</a> chairs cabinet.</p>","elementId":"4f75b846-3764-40ee-820c-65bb0b308736"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"<p><em>10am:</em> Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England, gives evidence to the Commons health committee.</p>","elementId":"2a3248be-bd14-404a-be56-43a5a2c9f8c2"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"<p><em>11am:</em> The Growth Commission, which was set up by Liz Truss, publishes a report proposing free market policies that it says would stimulate growth.</p>","elementId":"9671a018-9c36-4c9f-a649-fd9fa576d0f9"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"<p><em>11.30am:</em> Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.</p>","elementId":"e88635c3-2f75-4d01-a0e4-e4ffa8472736"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"<p><em>11.30am:</em> Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, takes questions in the Commons.</p>","elementId":"ffe8758d-e0d8-4c83-967a-0db97f317674"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"<p><em>After 12.30pm:</em> MPs resume the debate on the king’s speech, with the focus on the economy.</p>","elementId":"44d8bd35-3bbe-4d94-980a-43cf30c6a78e"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"<p>If you want to contact me, do try the “send us a message” feature. You’ll see it just below the byline – on the left of the screen, if you are reading on a laptop or a desktop. This is for people who want to message me directly. I find it very useful when people message to point out errors (even typos – no mistake is too small to correct). Often I find your questions very interesting, too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either in the comments below the line; privately (if you leave an email address and that seems more appropriate); or in the main blog, if I think it is a topic of wide interest.</p>","elementId":"f1f9fd12-59cf-4f0a-aae7-691b8736f180"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1699955653000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"04.54 EST","blockLastUpdated":1699957273000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"05.21 EST","blockFirstPublished":1699955653000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"04.54 EST","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"04.54","title":"New Tory chair Richard Holden dismisses reports Esther McVey has been appointed as ‘anti-woke’ minister","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Tue 14 Nov 2023 14.41 EST","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Tue 14 Nov 2023 04.54 EST"}],"filterKeyEvents":false,"id":"key-events-carousel-mobile"}" config="{"renderingTarget":"Web","darkModeAvailable":false}">
The UK’s business and trade secretary has signed a deal to increase trade with Florida, the British government’s latest pact with a single US state as it awaits a broader, post-Brexit, US free trade agreement.
The memorandum of understanding, signed on Tuesday by Kemi Badenoch and the Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, is the seventh deal between the UK and individual US states. The UK said the deal would focus on space, financial technology, artificial intelligence and legal services.
The UK government is keen to secure a deal with the US as a central part of its post-Brexit efforts to increase trade with countries beyond the EU. However, progress has been slow despite the Conservative party pledging in its 2019 manifesto to reach an agreement within three years.
Aletha Adu
Rishi Sunak has finished his cabinet reshuffle, centred on forming a “strong and united team”. But for the first time since 2010, Sunak has ensured privately educated men get the top four positions in government.
Liz Truss’s ministry was notable for initially having no white men serving in the great offices of state for the first time in British political history, with Kwasi Kwarteng becoming the first black chancellor.
Downing Street said on Tuesday it is not focused on “tick-box diversity” as the prime minister is “clear that it’s actions and tangible impacts on the public that matters”. Sunak’s press secretary said women were getting senior jobs elsewhere in government, insisting a lot of women had risen up the ranks.
Sunak attended Winchester college, the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, went to Charterhouse, David Cameron attended Eton and James Cleverly went to Colfe’s school.
Kiran Stacey
Keir Starmer will resist pressure from his MPs to back a ceasefire in Gaza on Wednesday in a move that could trigger one of the most significant rebellions of his leadership.
The Labour leader is backing an amendment to the king’s speech that will criticise how Israel has conducted its military campaign. But it will fall short of calling for the ceasefire that nearly a quarter of his parliamentary party wants.
Labour officials have told the party’s MPs to vote for their motion but to abstain on one from the Scottish National party calling for an outright ceasefire, making clear that they will sack any frontbencher who rebels by voting for the SNP amendment.
How damaging is Suella Braverman’s departure letter?
The last time Suella Braverman left the Home Office, in October 2022, she also wrote a letter that was damning about the prime minister. Today’s, though, is on a different scale.
Take out the passage about the leadership contest deal, and it is bad enough. That is not so much because of the passages about weak leadership (a standard complaint from opponents of a PM) or the passage about extremism (which will strike some people as hyperbole), but because Braverman performs an astute “I told you so” manoeuvre on Rwanda. She is probably right to say that, even if the government wins in the supreme court tomorrow, flights to Rwanda will take longer to start (and involve fewer people) than many Tory supporters expect or want. She has detached herself from Rishi Sunak on an issue where she thinks (not necessarily correctly) she has public opinion on her side.
But it is the claim about the leadership contest that is most damaging because it takes a wrecking ball to Sunak’s reputation for integrity. It was always assumed that some sort of deal was done. In the first leadership contest of 2022 Braverman promised to back Liz Truss at a time when her rightwing Tory MP supporters might otherwise have rallied behind Kemi Badenoch. In return, Truss promised to promote Braverman from attorney general to home secretary. (There was an explicit deal, as Ben Riley-Smith confirms in his excellent new book on the Tories, The Right to Rule.) With Sunak, Braverman pulled off the same trick. It is arguable whether, as she claims, her endorsement was “pivotal”, but it certainly helped. She declared for Sunak on Sunday 23 October and that night Boris Johnson declared he was pulling out of the contest. Sunak was then elected unopposed.
What is surprising is the claim that Sunak offered explicit promises, and not just nudges and winks. We have yet to hear his side of the story and it may be that, when she says he promised to support policies contained in a document, he was simply saying, “Yes, of course, I’ll consider etc etc.” Yet reports that there are witnesses (see 5.01pm), and hints that she will publish the text (see 5.12pm), imply she might be able to provide strong evidence of a deal of sorts. This will alarm Tory MPs who backed Sunak precisely because they thought he was not the sort of candidate to sign up to a hard Brexit ERG-type wishlist. They will also want to know why he was naive enough to haggle like this with Braverman when he probably did not need to anyway.
None of this means Sunak will be toppled in a leadership contest. There is no obvious replacement, and there is little appetite among Tory MPs for another ballot. (Even Braverman is not calling for one.) But – unless he can provide a robust rebuttal, which he hasn’t so far – Sunak looks tainted and demeaned. For Labour, it’s a godsend.
That’s all from me for today. My collegue Tom Ambrose is taking over now.
The Liberal Democrats say Suella Braverman’s letter shows the Tory soap opera is never ending. In a response, the Lib Dem MP Alistair Carmichael said:
This is yet more Conservative chaos. Suella Braverman failed at every task at hand as home secretary and now she seems determined to drag everyone else down with her.
While people struggle to see their GP or pay their mortgages, this government is too busy dealing with their own infighting.
When will this Conservative party soap opera end?
No 10 responds to Braverman, saying PM believes in ‘actions not words ‘ – but not denying claims of broken promises
Downing Street has issued its first response to the Suella Braverman letter, which does not include a denial of the claims she is making about Rishi Sunak going back on promises he made to secure Braverman’s backing for the Tory leadership last autumn. A No 10 spokesperson says:
The prime minister was proud to appoint a strong, united team yesterday focused on delivering for the British people.
The prime minister believes in actions not words. He is proud that this government has brought forward the toughest legislation to tackle illegal migration this country has seen and has subsequently reduced the number of boat crossings by a third this year. And whatever the outcome of the supreme court tomorrow, he will continue that work.
The PM thanks the former home secretary for her service.
Braverman tells Sunak to ‘change course urgently’, saying ‘your plan is not working’
And here is how Braverman ends her letter.
In October of last year you were given an opportunity to lead our country. It is a privilege to serve and one we should not take for granted. Service requires bravery and thinking of the common good. It is not about occupying the office as an end in itself.
Someone needs to be honest: your plan is not working, we have endured record election defeats, your resets have failed and we are running out of time. You need to change course urgently.
I may not have always found the right words, but I have always striven to give voice to the quiet majority that supported us in 2019. I have endeavoured to be honest and true to the people who put us in these privileged positions.
I will, of course, continue to support the government in pursuit of policies which align with an authentic conservative agenda.
Sincerely,
Rt Hon Suella Braverman KC MP
Braverman accuses Sunak of being ‘uncertain, weak and lacking in leadership’ over threat posed by extremism
Braverman then turns in her letter to the row about the pro-Palestinian marches. She says:
Another cause for disappointment – and the context for my recent article in The Times – has been your failure to rise to the challenge posed by the increasingly vicious antisemitism and extremism displayed on our streets since Hamas’s terrorist atrocities of 7 October.
I have become hoarse urging you to consider legislation to ban the hate marches and help stem the rising tide of racism, intimidation and terrorist glorification threatening community cohesion. Britain is at a turning point in our history and faces a threat of radicalisation and extremism in a way not seen for 20 years. I regret to say that your response has been uncertain, weak, and lacking in the qualities of leadership that this country needs. Rather than fully acknowledge the severity of this threat, your team disagreed with me for weeks that the law needed changing.
As on so many other issues, you sought to put off tough decisions in order to minimise political risk to yourself. In doing so you have increased the very real risk these marches present to everyone else.
Braverman says, even if he wins in supreme court, Sunak’s compromises will stop Rwanda deportations starting soon
In the third section of the letter Braverman writes about small boats, and the supreme court decision on the Rwanda policy tomorrow.
Your rejection of this path (see 5pm) was not merely a betrayal of our agreement, but a betrayal of your promise to the nation that you would do ‘whatever it lakes’ to stop the boats.
At every stage of litigation I cautioned you and your team against assuming we would win. I repeatedly urged you to take legislative measures that would better secure us against the possibility of defeat. You ignored these arguments. You opted instead for wishful thinking as a comfort blanket to avoid having to make hard choices. This irresponsibility has wasted time and left the country in an impossible position.
If we lose in the supreme court, an outcome that I have consistently argued we must be prepared for, you will have wasted a year and an Act of Parliament, only to arrive back at square one. Worse than this, your magical thinking – believing that you can will your way through this without upsetting polite opinion – has meant you have failed to prepare any sort of credible ‘Plan B’. I wrote to you on multiple occasions setting out what a credible Plan B would entail, and making clear that unless you pursue these proposals, in the event of defeat, there is no hope of flights this side of an election. I received no reply from you.
I can only surmise that this is because you have no appetite for doing what is necessary, and therefore no real intention of fulfilling your pledge to the British people.
If, on the other hand, we win in the supreme court, because of the compromises that you insisted on in the Illegal Migration Act, the government will struggle to deliver our Rwanda partnership in the way that the public expects. The Act is far from secure against legal challenge. People will not be removed as swiftly as I originally proposed. The average claimant will be entitled to months of process, challenge, and appeal. Your insistence that rule 39 indications [injunctions imposed by the European court of human rights] are binding in international law – against the views of leading lawyers, as set out in the House of Lords – will leave us vulnerable to being thwarted yet again by the Strasbourg court.
On the PM programme Chris Mason, the BBC’s political editor, says he has asked Braverman’s team if he can see the document she writes about which set out the conditions Sunak agreed to when she promised to support him. Mason says he was told that was “not for today” – implying she is planning to release it in due course.
The next phase of the letter is the passage where Braverman says Rishi Sunak broke promises he made to her in secret when she backed him for leader. (See 5pm.)
