It is with the departure of his Minister of the Interior that Rishi Sunak begins a reshuffle aimed at giving him a new lease of life in the run-up to the legislative elections. The British Prime Minister on Monday sacked Suella Braverman, in the hot seat since criticism of the police. She is replaced by the former Foreign Minister, James Cleverly. The latter is for his part replaced by former Prime Minister David Cameron.
Several media outlets, including the BBC and the PA news agency, immediately announced Suella Braverman’s departure, citing government sources. Suella Braverman confirmed this by declaring that serving as Minister of the Interior had been “the greatest privilege of [sa] life,” adding that she would speak “in due time.”
Series of controversies
A reshuffle has been expected for weeks but events came to a head last week when the Home Secretary criticized the London police in an op-ed at the Timesaccusing him of authorizing the pro-Palestinian march held on Saturday and accusing him of bias.
The article had not received the green light from Downing Street, contrary to the usual rules. As well as a blow to Rishi Sunak’s authority, these comments were seen as an attack on the operational independence of the police.
They were added to a series of controversies provoked in recent months by the very right-wing 43-year-old minister: she described the arrivals of refugees as an “invasion” and warned of a migratory “hurricane”, and had more recently estimated that some homeless people slept in tents in accordance with a “chosen lifestyle”.
Divisions in government
The dismissal of this figure from the right wing of the majority, who willingly launches into cultural “wars”, risks causing turmoil within the conservatives and reinforcing divisions, with certain deputies supporting her having threatened to resign if she left the government.
Already Interior Minister, she was ousted from the government in October 2022 by then Prime Minister Liz Truss, after using her personal email to send official documents. The British media had also mentioned disagreements on migration policy, Suella Braverman being in favor of a tougher policy than the former head of government.
She was reappointed to this same portfolio by Rishi Sunak when he succeeded Liz Truss, a way of keeping the right wing of the party and this personality with displayed ambitions under control.