Why Braverman Has to Go
It is no secret that this newsletter does not think much of Suella Braverman. Her time as Attorney General was a disaster and betrayed a severe lack of knowledge about the law.
Despite that fact, political reasons ensured her continued rise up the ranks of the Conservative party so that we are now in our current position where she is the Home Secretary.
I use the word ‘current’ carefully there because her most recent shenanigans could finally cost her the cabinet position she so desired. At the time of going to press, Downing Street has disowned an article written by the Home Secretary that is heavily critical of the police. A number of members in her own party have called for her to be dismissed.
In a surprising turn of events it is the leader of the Labour party, Keir Starmer, who has perhaps most accurately hit the nail on the head. Speaking this evening he said that the Home Secretary had undermined the police while the prime minister was “too weak to do anything about it”.
Whether that remains true, we will have to wait and see but in a constitutional sense it is quite dangerous when any senior member of the executive accuses the police (another part of the executive branch of government) of bias.
Generally if there is a failure within the system then it is the Home Secretary who is considered to be at fault. One is reminded of Michael Howard who was the Home Secretary in the mid-1990s. In 1997 an inquiry was due to be published about a series of prison escapes and, in advance of publication, Howard blamed the prison service even though his office has ultimate responsibility. By that point, the Conservatives were out of office but Howard’s position would surely have been untenable by that point anyway, especially after an infamous interview with Jeremy Paxman.
When it comes down to it the equation is rather simple. The police are rightly supposed to be politically independent, Braverman’s comments undermine that independence when she herself is supposed to be the person ultimately responsible. For that reason alone she should lose her job.
If that was not enough then her piece for The Times is also an attack on the principle of collective cabinet responsibility whereby members of the cabinet hew to the same line. According to reports, the article was not cleared by Number 10 and suggested edits were ignored. That in itself would be a breach of the ministerial code and potential cause for sacking.
Throughout her political career up to this point Suella Braverman has failed to realise that the buck stops with her. She might be about to get a rude awakening.