Thirty-two Fenland Conservative councillors told Prime Minister Rishi Sunak they oppose his sacking of Home Secretary Suella Braverman who was “the loudest and clearest voice in your Cabinet” for opposing the woke agenda. They believed Ms Braverman had also been clearest and loudest on subjects such as “antisemitism, protecting our borders, maintaining the existing gender protection legislation”.
The 32 councillors (the bulk of the 35 Conservatives on Fenland District Council) said that whilst they don’t all share the opinions on all subjects “we are united in our grave concern at events this week in Westminster”.
Their letter, released last night on social media, tells the prime minister: “We are concerned that the Government has not made the most of our opportunities post-Brexit”.
They fear a shift towards remain-supporting MPs in his Cabinet and “our fear is that the Government will not fulfil, nor may it attempt to fulfil, its commitment to maximise the opportunities that Brexit has given us”.
Whilst “we don’t all necessarily support her personally” they argued that Suella Braverman’s dismissal, without promoting others of similar views, “gives the impression that the party in Government is rowing back on the commitments it gave when it won its mandate to govern in 2019.
“And when it promised to uphold the will of the people as expressed in the Brexit referendum in 2016”.
In the 2016 referendum, Fenland was 71.4% Leave compared to 28.6% Remain.
Suella Braverman, the Tory councillors claimed, had “striven to give voice to the quiet majority that supported us in 2019.
“Politics should be about policies. Government is about getting results, not just playing to the gallery”.
Sunak is challenged to “fulfil the five promises that you made earlier this year – to halve inflation, grow the economy, reduce debts as a proportion of GDP, to cut NHS waiting lists and to stop the small boats”.
The decision by the Supreme Court to stop asylum seekers being sent to Rwanda looks to have been the final straw for the 32 Conservative councillors.
They call on the PM to “immediately declare that the will of the British people as expressed through their elected Government should not be frustrated any further”.
The councillors want the UK to withdraw from the European Convention of Human Rights immediately and “block off the Human Rights Act and all other obligations which inhibit our ability to remove those with no right to be in the UK.
“We seek action, not just words now that the Supreme Court ruling is published.
“We have reached a critical point where your promise as prime minister ‘to do whatever it takes’ needs to be translated into positive action to deliver what the majority of voters want”.
Their letter continues: “We note Suella Braverman’s promise in her resignation letter ‘to continue to support the Government in pursuit of policies which align with an authentic Conservative agenda’ which we take to include the promises made in our party’s manifesto in 2019, which provides the Government’s mandate to govern.
“We as local Conservative councillors declare our support for Government in pursuit of those aims.
“We call on the Government to turn its words into real actions. Lets start seeing that happen this week.”
Their letter concludes: “Without such decisive and immediate action now that the Supreme Court has published its ruling, there will be a real danger of a terminal loss of confidence in the Government as in you as prime minister.”
