Suella Braverman's time is up.

[Mezzer]

Another archived article here:

archive.ph

Suella Braverman faces civil servant backlash over reappointment

Decision 'sends clear signal that ministers can act with impunity'

www.telegraph.co.uk

 

[Mezzer]

The clamour is growing:

Sunak under renewed pressure over Braverman rehire as ex-Tory chairman accuses her of 'multiple breaches' of ministerial code

The new PM stuck by bringing back the home secretary six days after she resigned, while questions remain over whether officials warned against it.

news.sky.com

 

[cesare]

I reckon he's done this so he can more easily bring back Priti Patel.

 

[andysays]

I reckon he's done this so he can more easily bring back Priti Patel.

I'm struggling to remember now.

Did Patel actually resign because of something she shouldn't have done, or did she simply drop out of the Cabinet when Johnson was replaced by Truss?

 

[bimble]

is this normal? Seems not great, have the loons managed to stuff the whole home office with their acolytes or do they just control the communications people idk.

 

[maomao]

is this normal? Seems not great, have the loons managed to stuff the whole home office with their acolytes or do they just control the communications people idk.
View attachment 349036

What did you expect 'Oh no! She's back! Heee...'?

 

[bimble]

What did you expect 'Oh no! She's back! Heee...'?

idk. stony silence would have been nice. Majority of people who actually work there I doubt they're in any way delighted.

 

[Karl Masks]

The sooner we get rid of this awful creature, the more it harms Sunak

 

[planetgeli]

is this normal? Seems not great, have the loons managed to stuff the whole home office with their acolytes or do they just control the communications people idk.
View attachment 349036

It's convention (even if it is done by twitter).

Same way they'd send a limousine for Hitler.

 

[_Russ_]

"You may send them into hiding, but they'll be back again"

 

[WhyLikeThis]

Trump refused to give up his personal iPhone. He must be Sue-Ellen’s hero.

 

[cesare]

I'm struggling to remember now.

Did Patel actually resign because of something she shouldn't have done, or did she simply drop out of the Cabinet when Johnson was replaced by Truss?

She resigned because Johnson did, didn't she? Not sure tbh.

 

[maomao]

She resigned because Johnson did, didn't she? Not sure tbh.

She didn't resign until the day before Truss got made PM. She refused to resign when all the others did because she had important bullying to do.

 

[SpookyFrank]

The sooner we get rid of this awful creature, the more it harms Sunak

He must be aware it's a big gamble. I know he's not earth-shatteringly bright but Braverman is an obvious liability and if he loses one of his top four ministers in week one then it all suddenly starts to look like Truss 2.0. And the tories haven't got another roll of the dice after this, no way they can anoint yet another leader if Sunak falls. So then general election, with no leader, and likely total oblivion.

I get that Braverman is there as a sop to the loons, but the lack of even a basic level of long-term thinking is alarming. Or it would be if we didn't already know just how useless this rump of a tory party is.

 

[maomao]

no way they can anoint yet another leader if Sunak falls. So then general election, with no leader, and likely total oblivion.

Legally they can change leader every other week if they want. They have a majority.

 

[SpookyFrank]

Legally they can change leader every other week if they want. They have a majority.

Yeah but in terms of what they can get away with in the real world...

 

[_Russ_]

What is this 'real world' you speak of?

 

[Pickman's model]

He must be aware it's a big gamble. I know he's not earth-shatteringly bright but Braverman is an obvious liability and if he loses one of his top four ministers in week one then it all suddenly starts to look like Truss 2.0. And the tories haven't got another roll of the dice after this, no way they can anoint yet another leader if Sunak falls. So then general election, with no leader, and likely total oblivion.

I get that Braverman is there as a sop to the loons, but the lack of even a basic level of long-term thinking is alarming. Or it would be if we didn't already know just how useless this rump of a tory party is.

this isn't going to be truss 2.0, everyone knew her wheels were going to come off. this is sunak1.1, where no one knows what will blow the wheels off - though there's dozens of landmines for him ahead

 

[Karl Masks]

He must be aware it's a big gamble. I know he's not earth-shatteringly bright but Braverman is an obvious liability and if he loses one of his top four ministers in week one then it all suddenly starts to look like Truss 2.0. And the tories haven't got another roll of the dice after this, no way they can anoint yet another leader if Sunak falls. So then general election, with no leader, and likely total oblivion.

I get that Braverman is there as a sop to the loons, but the lack of even a basic level of long-term thinking is alarming. Or it would be if we didn't already know just how useless this rump of a tory party is.

It's the power of the ERG. She offered to back him over Boris and so he owed her. I doubt even he would have chosen her over just about anyone else, even Patel

 

[andysays]

It's the power of the ERG. She offered to back him over Boris and so he owed her. I doubt even he would have chosen her over just about anyone else, even Patel

It's tempting to see it like that, but I'm not convinced it's true.

My recollection is that Sunak had already passed the 100 nominations and was looking pretty much nailed on as leader before Braverman announced she was backing him, so she wasn't really in a position to demand her old job as a condition of her support.

 

[Karl Masks]

It's tempting to see it like that, but I'm not convinced it's true.

My recollection is that Sunak had already passed the 100 nominations and was looking pretty much nailed on as leader before Braverman announced she was backing him, so she wasn't really in a position to demand her old job as a condition of her support.

BUt he still needs the support of her 'caucus', if you like. The ERG and the hard right cranks that love her shit.

These are the people that have explicitly said (Steve Baker interview on Sky) they will tank Sunak if they don't get their way on Northern Ireland Protocol resolution.

I don't think it's merely a question of quid pro quo for votes. It's that he wants these maniacs on side and can't risk making political enemies. He may have been chancellor, but he's still green as a politician and this is the top job - one he didn't win by any popular mandate. Just a technicality.

 

[andysays]

BUt he still needs the support of her 'caucus', if you like. The ERG and the hard right cranks that love her shit.

These are the people that have explicitly said (Steve Baker interview on Sky) they will tank Sunak if they don't get their way on Northern Ireland Protocol resolution.

I don't think it's merely a question of quid pro quo for votes. It's that he wants these maniacs on side and can't risk making political enemies. He may have been chancellor, but he's still green as a politician and this is the top job - one he didn't win by any popular mandate. Just a technicality.

Maybe this is correct, but I wouldn't describe it as backing him over Boris, which suggests you're talking about the actual contest, rather than supporting him once he becomes PM.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Maybe this is correct, but I wouldn't describe it as backing him over Boris, which suggests you're talking about the actual contest, rather than supporting him once he becomes PM.

On the timeline, she came out for Sunak before Johnson withdrew. Obviously we don't know what backroom deals were done, but we can be sure that many were done. Braverman backing Sunak like that, along with Baker saying that Johnson shouldn't come back, was likely a decisive factor in Johnson pulling out.

KM's reading of the situation looks right to me. Sunak's hired the ERG rather than buying them. And their support is highly conditional.

 

[Cid]

Trump refused to give up his personal iPhone. He must be Sue-Ellen’s hero.

You'd hope a barrister who spent 2 years as attorney fucking general would have been briefed on confidentiality at some point.

 

[andysays]

On the timeline, she came out for Sunak before Johnson withdrew. Obviously we don't know what backroom deals were done, but we can be sure that many were done. Braverman backing Sunak like that, along with Baker saying that Johnson shouldn't come back, was likely a decisive factor in Johnson pulling out.

KM's reading of the situation looks right to me. Sunak's hired the ERG rather than buying them. And their support is highly conditional.

Fair enough, but it appeared to me that Sunak was pretty much certain to win it long before Johnson actually pulled out, and that Braverman announcing her support didn't make much difference to the result.

More generally, I think the importance of the ERG is often exaggerated. Much of their power is based on the perception that they are important, and a Tory leader (especially one with a majority of 80 odd) who was really determined to face them down could probably do so.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

You'd hope a barrister who spent 2 years as attorney fucking general would have been briefed on confidentiality at some point.

I would have naively thought that a former attorney general would be qualified to give briefings on confidentiality.

 

[Rob Ray]

Reckon they'll brazen it out with Braverman for a while just so they can say "this wasn't a forced move" and get close enough to election time to defang the loon wing a bit, then bump in a reshuffle. Can't see them willingly opening the door for said loons to accuse Sunak of being soft on migrants, a closet socialist etc. Right now her presence solves more problems for Sunak than it causes. If she fucks up again (quite possible) that might accelerate matters mind.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Fair enough, but it appeared to me that Sunak was pretty much certain to win it long before Johnson actually pulled out, and that Braverman announcing her support didn't make much difference to the result.

More generally, I think the importance of the ERG is often exaggerated. Much of their power is based on the perception that they are important, and a Tory leader (especially one with a majority of 80 odd) who was really determined to face them down could probably do so.

I think your second point is right, however Sunak is not a strong leader (due to the circumstances rather than anything else). Strikes me that he needs at least the appearance of unity right now.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

You'd hope a barrister who spent 2 years as attorney fucking general would have been briefed on confidentiality at some point.

Who'd have thought they'd promote yet another private school kid to a role such as attorney general? It's almost as if a pile of sick outside a Spoons on a Sunday morning would get a top job if it had the right tie on, ffs.

 

[bluescreen]

After that Jake Berry interview last night it dawned on me that it was quite possible that Sunak himself could be gone by Christmas. The (wholly deserved) attacks on Braverman are coming from many quarters and should also be viewed as attacks on Sunak himself. It's not just the left, but the Johnson backers who want a GE.