Rishi Sunak found himself between a rock and a hard place as the clock counted down. The British Prime Minister decided early Monday to expel the controversial and inflammatory Suella Braverman, who until today held the post of Home Secretary, from his government. The new security chief will be James Cleverly, the current head of the foreign affairs department. And former Prime Minister David Cameron (2010-2016) will be the new head of British diplomacy. Because Cameron, 57, is not an MP, he must be appointed to the House of Lords to join the government.
The sacking of Braverman and the surprise announcement of Cameron’s appointment were the hidden earthquake in a major government shake-up that had been expected for several weeks and aimed at replacing government members with little strength or results in their respective departments. Like Will Quince, who announced his resignation as health secretary after failing to reduce hospital waiting lists, one of Sunak’s key promises a year ago. Or Jesse Norman, who also resigned as transport secretary following the controversial announcement in Downing Street that the HS2 project, which would bring high-speed connections to the north of England, had been permanently canceled.
The British prime minister has combined surprise and a desperate need to put an erratic government back in order with a desire to withstand a complex and difficult election year that Sunak, who never faced the polls, is still seeking to be re-elected. A government shake-up that turned out to be bigger than expected came as no surprise to anyone. The coup de effect was to get rid of the most reactionary and extreme element of his cabinet and regain a moderate and controversial figure to give Downing Street political weight.
Sunak has therefore made a risky move by offering Cameron a position as relevant as that of the Foreign Office. It is the first time in more than half a century that a former prime minister has returned to government in a lower position, and Cameron also carries with him the original sin of calling the Brexit referendum in 2016 that split the Conservatives – and to lose party already. The whole of British society.
Cameron reacted on the social network after confirming his appointment (…) It has never been more important for our country to stand with our allies, strengthen relationships with our partners and ensure our voice is heard “said the former prime minister, whose decision most soured relations between London and Brussels and between London and Washington.
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For his part, Labor foreign policy spokesman David Lammy said: “David Cameron was a disastrous prime minister. “His appointment is the latest act of desperation by a government short on talent and ideas.” Labor national campaign coordinator Pat McFadden added: “Just a few weeks ago Rishi Sunak was positioning Cameron as part of a status quo , which he promised to change. Now she clings to him like a life jacket. The promise to reverse thirteen years of Conservative governments has become a joke.”
Sunak is clinging to Cameron’s popularity with the moderate Conservative electorate and the party’s most centrist wing to project an image of unity at a time when the most reactionary Tories want a tougher hand on crime or irregular immigration – something the prime minister wants incorporated into his speech – and the most moderate are calling for a return to reason. Sunak adds political weight to a government that has lacked strength a year before a very complicated general election for the Tories. Polls give the Labor opposition an average lead of 20 percentage points.
When it came to sacking the Home Secretary, Sunak had two options on the table, equally complicated and fraught with pitfalls. After a weekend of violence on the streets, with clashes between far-right and pro-Palestinian protesters and more than 120 arrests and three days before the Supreme Court rules on the controversial plan to deport illegal immigrants to Rwanda, the first minister was torn Either make Braverman a martyr to the conservative right wing – and thus a future political rival – or demonstrate his authority and fire a highly toxic member of his government.
Last week Braverman had written a column in The Times newspaper against the recommendations of the Prime Minister’s Office, which could monitor the text, in which he accused Scotland Yard of applying double standards to street demonstrations and of having a clearly positive pro-Palestinian bias activists. He described these street protests, which attracted more than 300,000 people in London on Saturday, as “hate marches” and accused them of anti-Semitism and sympathy for Islamist terrorism.
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His allegations, which inflamed Metropolitan Police chief Mark Rowley, the Labor opposition and much of Conservative MPs, helped heighten tensions ahead of the weekend and mobilized hundreds of Ultras and members of the fascist organization English Defense League. Even their former leader, Tommy Robinson, was seen on the streets of the British capital.
If the Supreme Court rules against deportations to Rwanda, it is likely that Braverman will lead the call, made for years by the far right of the Conservative Party, for the UK to abandon the European Convention on Human Rights. For hardliners in the Tories, this treaty, of which the British were among the first signatories, is the latest European beast to tie governments’ hands on immigration issues. Sunak could not allow such a rebellion from his Home Secretary.
Conversely, if the Supreme Court ultimately agrees with Downing Street and gives the green light to the Rwanda strategy, it would be very difficult for public opinion, conservative voters further to the right and an important part of the party, to justify the exclusion of Braverman .
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