‘Not Hypocritical for Ethnic Minorities to Speak These Truths’: Suella Braverman on Migration

UK home secretary Suella Braverman will ask UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to deliver the assurances on migration given in the Tory manifesto so that the UK does not forget how to “do things for ourselves”.

Braverman is also expected to criticise the Left for targeting Tory leaders who belong to the ethnic minorities for standing up against illegal immigration, the UK-based Telegraph said in a report.

These statements will be delivered Monday when the UK home secretary, an emerging leader of the right-wing within the right-leaning Conservative Party, addresses the National Conservatism Conference.

Braverman is also raising the pressure on her boss Sunak at a time when the Tories witnessed the loss of more than 1,000 Tory councillors at this month’s local elections.

The right-wing within the Tories is also unhappy with the Sunak-led government because he apparently abandoned a promise to scrap all EU laws by the end of 2023.

The report by the Telegraph also pointed out that since Sunak put economic growth and boosting the UK’s productivity, senior Tories fear that immigration is being seen as a quick fix for a job market that lacks workforce.

The report also said that the UK cabinet remains divided over the scale of immigration since the Brexit vote.

Braverman’s speech will come at a time when net migration reach close to 700,000 despite the Tory manifesto pledge in 2019 to bring down overall numbers.

“I’m not embarrassed to say that I love Britain. No true Conservative is. It’s not racist for anyone, ethnic minority or otherwise, to want to control our borders. I reject the Left’s argument that it is hypocritical for someone from an ethnic minority to know these facts; to speak these truths,” Braverman is expected to say.

“I voted and campaigned for Brexit because I wanted Britain to control migration. So that we all have a say on what works for our country. High-skilled workers support economic growth. Fact. But we need to get overall immigration numbers down. And we mustn’t forget how to do things for ourselves,” Braverman will tell the National Conservatism Conference.

Sunak has made five promises to voters ahead of the elections. He has promised to halve inflation in 2023, grow the economy, get national debt to fall, cut down NHS waiting lists and pass new laws to stop small boats.

However, Braverman and other right-leaning Conservatives, coupled with Boris Johnson supporters like Priti Patel want Sunak to also take steps to curbing legal migration as well.

Braverman is concerned about the number of dependents that foreign students can bring to the UK but that decision now lies with Sunak’s office.

“My parents came here through legal and controlled migration. They spoke the language. They threw themselves into the community, embraced British values. When they arrived they signed up to be part of our shared project because the UK meant something to them. Integration was part of the quid pro quo,” Braverman will tell.