Suella Braverman departs as UK home secretary

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: The Guardian

Suella Braverman is understood to have departed as UK home secretary after Liz Truss cleared her diary and called off a planned visit amid desperate attempts to save her premiership, the Guardian has been told.

There is speculation that Grant Shapps, the former transport secretary who strongly backed Rishi Sunak in the Conservative leadership race, will replace Braverman in another sudden revamp of Truss's government.
...
No 10 denied that Braverman had been sacked but did not respond to requests for clarification about the nature of her departure.

It would be another massive blow to the prime minister's authority after she was forced to sack Kwasi Kwarteng and rip up her economic strategy to avoid a markets meltdown.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/oct/19/suella-braverman-departs-as-uk-home-secretary-liz-truss

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"Home Secretary" is in charge of law, immigration, and some other stuff. Braverman is a hardliner - gung-ho on cutting immigration, deportation to Rwanda of unauthorized immigrants, more police powers to lock up protesters etc.

Reasons are still unclear (hence the woolly 'departed' in the Guardian's headline; the BBC is talking about

My understanding is Suella Braverman's resignation was not over a disagreement about government policy, but instead what was described to me as an honest mistake on the part of the now former home secretary.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-63309400?ns_mchannelsocial&ns_sourcetwitter&ns_campaignbbc_live&ns_linkname635019cf92171f0e39be8b0b%26Resignation%20over%20honest%20mistake%2C%20not%20policy%262022-10-19T15%3A38%3A51.712Z&ns_fee0&pinned_post_locatorurn:asset:56fcd5af-a015-42c2-a3bb-a8c5effb86ed&pinned_post_asset_id635019cf92171f0e39be8b0b&pinned_post_typeshare

which is not a usual way a resignation is put. "Mistake" in declaring interests or benefits received as an MP/government minister?

The BBC has also said they think this makes her the shortest-serving Home Secretary since WW2. Kwarteng was the shortest serving Chancellor, apart from one who dies of a sudden heart attack. The job expectancy of senior Cabinet posts is approaching that of Al Qaeda Number 2s.

Update: her resignation letter is out. On the face of it, it's resigning over a technical mistake about email security, but her other remarks look more like a "Truss is useless, I'm going before it becomes more embarrassing to be in the Cabinet".

Link to tweet

Earlier today, I sent an official document from my personal email to a trusted parliamentary colleague as part of policy engagement, and with the aim of garnering support for government policy on migration.

"This constitutes a technical infringement of the rules. As you know, the document was a draft Written Ministerial Statement about migration, due for publication imminently. Much of it had already been briefed to MPs. Nevertheless it is right for me to go.

"As soon as I realised my mistake, I rapidly reported this on official channels, and informed the Cabinet Secretary. As Home Secretary I hold myself to the highest standards and my resignation is the right thing to do.

"The business of government relies upon people accepting responsibility for their mistakes.

"Pretending we haven't made mistakes, carrying on as if everyone can't sce that we have made them, and hoping that things will magically come right is not serious politics. I have made a mistake; I accept responsibility; I resign.
...
"Not only have we broken key pledges that were promised to our voters, but I have had serious concerns about this government's commitment to honoring manifesto commitments, such as reducing overall migration numbers and stopping illegal migration, particularly the dangerous small boats crossings.

"It has been a great honour to serve at the Home Office, in even the brief time that I have been here, it has been very clear that there is much to do, in terms of delivering on the priorities of the British people.

"They deserve policing they can respect, an immigration policy they want and voted for in such unambiguous numbers at the last election, and laws which serve the public good, and not the interests of selfish protestors.

"I am very grateful to all of my officials, special advisers and ministerial team for all of their help during my time as Home Secretary.

"I especially would like to pay tribute to the heroic policemen and women and all those who work at Border Force and in our security services. To oversee Operation Bridges - the largest policing operation in a generation - was a great honour and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to serve.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-63309400?ns_mchannelsocial&ns_sourcetwitter&ns_campaignbbc_live&ns_linkname63501fe892171f0e39be8b14%26Why%20Braverman%20is%20resigning%262022-10-19T16%3A04%3A07.804Z&ns_fee0&pinned_post_locatorurn:asset:42fdf896-a626-4377-ab58-9e8ac6bd4f7e&pinned_post_asset_id63501fe892171f0e39be8b14&pinned_post_typeshare

Commentary on BBC Radio by the Tory-supporting editor of The Spectator is that the bit about email is a complete red herring, and this is a political move to withdraw support from Truss. That was, of course, how the end of Boris Johnson started - cabinet ministers resigning.

Grant Shapps is the apparent replacement (a real chancer, and completely unsuitable to be in charge of the law - his various pseudonyms used to write "how to get rich quick" books are not what I want in a Home Secretary) - see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_Shapps#Business_ventures

[Ocelot II]

1. I wonder if Larry the cat will outlast yet another PM.

Truss' administration sounds about as shambolic as TFG's.

[Ford_Prefect]

2. Another wave in the Anschluss of erasing rule of law and civilian rights.

[Ray Bruns]

3. The people responsible for the previous sacking have been sacked.

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. You win today's internet for a 'Holy Grail' reference!

[Ray Bruns]

5. LOL

[Evolve Dammit]

9. "All this bickerin' and arguin' over who killed who. Supposed to be a happy occasion."

Maybe that comes later?

[LudwigPastorius]

6. Truss' premiership is not dead, it's just resting.

[Ocelot II]

7. She's pinin' for the fjords.

[Carlitos Brigante]

8. Clearly it's all the fault of the "Guardian-reading, tofu-eating wokerati'. What

an ass-clown.

[peppertree]

10. Loss of Truss, I take it

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. From today's Private Eye magazine:

[peppertree]

12. Talk about news from the future!

What with her name, and British wit, the possibilities here are almost endless.

And to think Thatcher was so adamant that Tories not rely on "the corset."

[NBachers]

13. And I'm flying out to London tomorrow . . .