Suella Braverman accuses Tories of betrayal as she defects to Reform UK
www.bbc.co.uk
The MP was unveiled as Reform's latest recruit by leader Nigel Farage at a rally, bringing the number of the party's sitting MPs to eight.

Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman has become the latest Conservative MP to defect to Reform UK.

She becomes the third sitting Tory MP to join Nigel Farage’s party in the last eleven days, and takes Reform’s tally of MPs to eight.

Unveiled at a rally in London, Braverman told Reform supporters she had also resigned her Tory membership of 30 years, adding: “I feel like I’ve come home.”

Her defection comes hot on the heels of Robert Jenrick and Andrew Rosindell, who also left the Conservatives earlier this month.

    • mjr@infosec.pubEnglish
      242·
      4 months ago

      So many to choose from! How about building more gas turbine power stations (thereby increasing demand for gas, pushing the global price up and benefitting Gazprom even if they don’t buy directly from them), cutting stamp duty on the biggest properties (including most of those bought by Russian oligarchs) and pulling out of the European Defence Fund? All straight from the last Reform manifesto and I’d bet Putin would be in favour of those, wouldn’t you?

      If you don’t like those, there’s stuff like cancelling our human rights, repealing the Equalities Act and “scrapping” the BBC.

      I suspect Reform would also open the floodgates to more Russian government funding, Nathan Gill style and otherwise, but they’re not daft enough to put that in their manifesto.

      Maybe you could say which Reform policies would Putin oppose? There’s some he probably wouldn’t care about either way, but oppose?

        • ohulancutash@feddit.ukEnglish
          111·
          4 months ago

          Russia was the biggest gas exporter until the 2022 sanctions. It is still heavily dependent on black and grey market exports.

          At the time of this comment, gas makes up 22% of tonight’s supply to the National Grid, with wind at 52% and Biomass/Nuclear at 17%. Gas will not last another 50 years at all.

          Telling that Reform wish to turn the clock back and fetter Britain to gas when other options are far more favourable to energy sovereignty. It’s like they’re shilling for someone else isn’t it.

            • mjr@infosec.pubEnglish
              1·
              4 months ago

              Read what I said again: we’ll be using gas in 50 years.

              We’ll have to wait 50 years to know, but even if we are, it’ll be much much less under any sane government, but it would be more if left to Reform.

              Your cherry picked statistics for a windy day at 22:30 are a poor example. Check again at 17:00.

              It’s absurd to accuse someone of cherry-picking and then cherry-pick a time when the National Energy System Operator has invited bids for the Demand Flexibility Service because the price of gas-generated electricity is too high.

              Maybe have a think about the majority of homes central heating.

              A majority, but not a supermajority. Only about 60% of UK homes burn gas for heating despite all the encouragement and inducement since the 1970s in a scandal that makes promotion of diesel cars look like playschool stuff, and a farcical and pathetic target-missing attempt to encourage heat pumps in the last 10 years (target: 600,000 heat pumps per year by 2028, latest number I’ve seen: 91,000 per year and no, that’s not missing a digit).

              Oh and we have never been a major importer of Russian gas.

              So? Buying gas and thereby driving the market price up is enough to benefit Russia. When you hear a gas boiler roar, it’s helping fund Putin.

        • mjr@infosec.pubEnglish
          7·
          4 months ago

          Proceeds to list zero policies 😀

          I listed three. You might like to pretend they’re not policies or something, but Reform put them in their manifesto.

          We’re using gas for the next 50 years whether it’s Reform or the Greens. That curries more favour with the US or Qatar than it does Russia. You’re reaching for that to be a “Putin policy”

          Really? Are you seriously claiming that Putin doesn’t want the UK buying gas for longer? As that’s the difference between Reform and the others: Reform would build more new gas power stations, prolonging the dependency mistake, while most of the other parties will phase it out more or less quickly.

          Scrapping the licence fee…

          Not only, but also scrapping the BBC because they believe on-demand TV has replaced it. That’s what they wrote.

          And I notice you don’t disagree that Putin would want the UK out of the European Defence Fund.

          What would Putin oppose? Let’s see… the top three from Reform’s site:

          • stopping the boats (I know, I know)
          • defend our borders
          • deport illegal migrants

          Don’t make me laugh! Why would Putin oppose those? Putin would love all of them, along with anything else that makes the UK more isolated and causes squabbles with its neighbours or diverts funds from NATO-level defence to petty little border patrols. That’s why he’s paid Reform politicians like Nathan Gill so much.

            • mjr@infosec.pubEnglish
              1·
              4 months ago

              You’re just showboating because we’ve had nine Putin-friendly Reform UK policies so far:

              1. building more gas turbine power stations
              2. cutting stamp duty on the biggest properties
              3. pulling out of the European Defence Fund
              4. cancelling our human rights act
              5. repealing the Equalities Act
              6. “scrapping” the BBC
              7. stopping the boats (any method that really does it will be basically either impossible or illegal)
              8. defending our borders (more insular isolationism is what Putin really loves)
              9. deporting illegal migrants (which would quickly become an ICE-style scandal deporting natives who look different and dwarf the Windrush scandal)
    • Corporal_Punishment@feddit.ukEnglish
      7·
      4 months ago

      Agree…

      Farage and pals are totally hanging out of Putin’s arse and a lot of what they do and say will no doubt make him happy, especially when it comes to support for Ukraine.

      Not sure which of their policies are the same as Putins though

        • jabjoe@feddit.ukEnglish
          11·
          4 months ago

          Reform is a pro-Russia party with members jailed for Russian corruption. Farage is just good at it and not been caught.

          Reform would give MAGA the UK. Traitors. Reform is full of Brexit people when Brexit massively damanaged the country. Traitors. Reform would privative the NHS screwing over all the but the rich. Traitors.

          Magnet to the worse of the Tories.

          Let alone the blatant racism and intolerance of any diversity. I refuse to tolerant their intolerance. It must be challenged or we’ll end sinking into a hell hole like the US has (and is still descending further).