Braverman not the person to reunite Tories, says ex-deputy chairman

Suella Braverman is not the “appropriate choice to reunite” the Conservatives, Jonathan Gullis, the party’s former deputy chairman, has said, accusing her of “overly divisive” and “aggressive” rhetoric.

Mrs Braverman, a former home secretary, is expected to run to replace Rishi Sunak as the Tory leader when he stands down later this year.

“I am abundantly clear that I do not think Suella Braverman is the right person,” Mr Gullis, who lost his Stoke-on-Trent North seat to Labour at the general election, told Times Radio.

“I think Suella’s rhetoric at times could be overly explosive, overly divisive, is not what the country wants to hear in all cases, because I think it is too aggressive.”

Mr Gullis’s remarks came a day after Mrs Braverman used a speech to the National Conservatism conference in Washington to claim that Mr Sunak had failed to stop the “lunatic woke virus” in the Civil Service and that he never wanted to stop migrant small boat Channel crossings.

He said: “There are some things that I would agree with her on in terms of taking on the Civil Service, which I do think at times has not been helpful or supportive towards the Conservative government, taking on the quangos that are essentially using millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money without having the level of accountability they should do.

“But I certainly do not think Suella Braverman is the appropriate choice to reunite the Conservative Party. I will simply now wait to see who is willing and brave enough – to be fairly frank, it’s a big task ahead of them – to throw their hat in the ring and wait like all members to see who we get to choose between.”

No potential candidates have formally announced that they will run for the Tory leadership. Other possible contenders include the former Cabinet ministers Robert Jenrick, Kemi Badenoch, Tom Tugendhat, Dame Priti Patel and Victoria Atkins.

Mrs Braverman’s prospective leadership bid was dealt a blow on Sunday when Danny Kruger, the prominent backbencher and co-chairman of the New Conservatives, abandoned her in favour of Robert Jenrick, the former immigration minister.

On Tuesday, Lord Houchen, the Tory Mayor of Tees Valley, said Mrs Braverman had “shot herself in the foot” by criticising the Conservatives in the wake of the election.

“I don’t think it’s a credible offering, and the MPs and the members that I speak to are not interested in the divisive Right-wing politics of Suella Braverman,” he told Times Radio. 

“I also think if the Conservative Party decides to go down the route of somebody like Suella Braverman, then we can absolutely see ourselves in opposition for generations to come.

“The road of redemption for the Conservative Party can be as long or as short as we wish to make it. And the idea that we should be more Right-wing... that is not the Conservative Party that I recognise, and I absolutely wouldn’t support that. She, before the leadership contest has even started, has shot herself in the foot.”