For Jamie Jewell, the pub owner at the Golden Lion, there has been radio silence from his local MP, Suella Braverman. In January last year, the MP for Fareham and Waterlooville visited the pub, offered to help the owners with removing a protected tree that was damaging the property, and posted photos with the staff on her Facebook page and for local media.
Jewell has not heard back from her since. “I’ve sent emails saying ‘we need support here’ and never received a response. Not even an acknowledgment,” Jewell said.
At a Reform UK event in London this week, Braverman made a surprise appearance and announced her defection from the Conservative party. “I feel as if I’ve come home,” she told the audience.
Jewell said he had no interest in Braverman’s future endeavours. “I don’t want her in my pub. She’s not helped us at all,” he said.
Braverman, who was Rishi Sunak’s home secretary from 2022-23 and gained a reputation as an opportunistic political operator with a keen sense of how to get traction on the right, has been the MP here since 2015.
Fareham is a market town north-west of Portsmouth harbour, in Hampshire. The constituency has been a Conservative stronghold since its creation in 1885. It was reformed into Gosport and Fareham in 1950, and again into Fareham and Waterlooville in 2024, when Braverman last won her seat.
Roy Gillingham, the owner of Fareham Wine Cellar, said he was “not surprised at all” by Braverman’s decision. “She’s very much more in tune with what Reform is doing.” He said Braverman regularly bought wine from his business for Conservative party meetings. “She stands good and hard for local people. That’s more important than what party she belongs to.”
He voted for Braverman in 2024 and would do so again. “The fact she’s gone over to Reform makes no difference. She’s still the same person. We can all change. I might vote Labour next time, I might vote Conservative. You vote for the person,” Gillingham said.
Elsewhere in Fareham, reaction to the defection was mixed. Graham Cull, 68, has always voted Conservative and was disappointed by Braverman’s choice, but he said: “I can understand why she’s doing it. The Conservatives are in disarray at the moment.”
Sue Cox, 70, said it was “quite alarming”. She believed Braverman had made a “gut reaction” due to her unhappiness with the Conservative party. “But is the alternative the right alternative?” she said. “That is the biggest worry, if you vote somebody in who’s an unknown. And let’s face it, Nigel Farage changes his tune like the weather, doesn’t he?”
Paul Holmes, a neighbouring Conservative MP to Braverman’s constituency, said his working relationship with Braverman had faded since the 2017 general election. After her defection, “I wouldn’t pick up the phone to Suella,” he said. “She hadn’t told any of her colleagues, her staff, her constituency association, which I think is highly disrespectful and discourteous.”
Holmes said he had received several messages from constituents asking him not to switch to Reform as well. “We’ve had a couple of new party members since Suella left, stating they didn’t like the politics of Suella.”
In a statement, the local council leader, Simon Martin, said the defection was “understandably disappointing, especially after very recently providing assurances to me that this would not happen”. He said: “We feel let down not only with the defection, but also that no prior indication was given to the Conservative group of her intentions. This lack of consideration particularly hurts the many team members who canvassed on her behalf as a Conservative.”
Manuel Martins, the chair of the Fareham and Waterlooville Conservative association, said the move had come as “both a surprise and a huge disappointment” because of “assurances and recent reassurances” from Braverman.
Dave Acheson, 37, does not vote Conservative. When he saw the news on Bluesky, he said, he found the move “nakedly self-interested” and predictable. “I just thought it’s another rat leaving the sinking ship. Let’s hope she’s going to another sinking ship.”
He added: “I despise her and everything she stands for, and the way she uses demonisation to get ahead in politics. I just think it’s sickening.” He believed Braverman should have stepped down as MP after switching loyalties. “There should be a rule that says if you change parties, there should be another byelection.”
His brother Michael chimed in: “Churchill famously switched parties and had to stand for a byelection. So there’s historical precedent.”
“Suella Braverman is no Churchill,” Dave replied.
