Suella Braverman pinpoints the one condition that would make her defect to Reform UK
The former Home Secretary has spoken out following her decision not to stand in the Tory leadership election.
Nigel Farage on Suella Braverman's possible move to Reform
Suella Braverman has spoken out publicly for the first time since she announced she will not be standing in the Tory leadership election.
Addressing the big question about her future in the Tory party, Ms Braverman said she wants to remain in her current blue rosette, but said there is a possible future in which she could defect to Reform UK.
Speaking to GB News, Ms Braverman poured cold water on speculation she could be preparing to jump ship to Nigel Farage’s party, with one crucial condition.
She told Christopher Hope: “I'm not going to defect to Reform. [But] I hope I'm not driven out to Reform by my colleagues.”
When stepping back from the Tory leadership contest, Ms Braverman decried the personal insults she has recently endured from members of her own party.
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She wrote: “I cannot run because I cannot say what people want to hear.
“I do not complain about this – it’s democracy in action and worked for Keir Starmer.
“I’ve been branded mad, bad and dangerous enough to see that the Tory Party does not want to hear the truths I’ve set out.”
Her parting shot appeared particularly aimed at Kemi Badenoch, who said in one Shadow Cabinet meeting this month that Ms Braverman appeared to be having a “very public” breakdown.
Ms Braverman later hit back: “I’d be interested in knowing whether Kemi thinks I’m having a ‘very public nervous breakdown.’
“Kemi, and the rest of the cabinet, should not have nodded along, as they and Rishi took the party to disaster. The refusal to take responsibility is at the root of our problem. It was not someone else’s fault.”
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Today Ms Braverman pointed to former Tory MP Lee Anderson as someone who “should be sitting as a Conservative Member of Parliament.”
She added: “We should have more Conservative Members of Parliament because Reform should not have been the force that it was. And many hundreds, several, many of our MPs lost because of Reform.
"So we talk about a broad church. We should not be hounding out Conservatives, right wingers, Eurosceptics, people who want to stand up for our flag and our faith.
"I look at Lee Anderson. Lee Anderson is a good friend of mine, and it's a tragedy that we lost him to Reform. He's someone who speaks with an authentic voice that resonates with a lot of people in Britain.”
Earlier this week, Reform MP Lee Anderson said Ms Braverman would be welcomed into his party if she chose to jump ship.
He told the Telegraph: “Suella knows where the true Conservatives sit in the chamber, and she is quite welcome to join us”.
“I would say she was probably one of the three most popular Conservative MPs.
“The party has lost all contact with the membership. They are just out of touch with the membership.
“If she did leave, she would probably take half the membership with her.”
