Former home secretary Suella Braverman has spoken out about her husband Rael’s defection to Reform UK to put an end to speculation about her own future.
Mr Braverman is set to become a senior campaigner for Nigel Farage’s party, defending farmers against Keir Starmer’s new inheritance tax raid.
But the move has again reopened speculation about Ms Braverman’s future in the Conservative Party with some Tory and Reform sources suggesting she was to be unveiled as Reform’s latest defector at a press conference planned for Tuesday.
She was a leadership contender to replace Boris Johnson in 2022 and has been the darling of the right and has now been the subject of fevered speculation that she could switch to Reform since the summer.
However, in a statement to The Independent, Ms Braverman made it clear that, for now, she is not planning on defecting.
She said: “It’s not true. I am not defecting.”
The former home secretary added: “My husband and I have a healthy respect for each other’s independence – he doesn’t tell me how to do my job, and I don’t tell him how to pick a political party.”
An ally complained of “astonishing 18th century attitudes” at play with people assuming she would follow her husband’s lead.
With high-profile defections in the last week including former minister Dame Andrea Jenkyns, a former ally of Ms Braverman, and Conservative Home founder Tim Montgomerie, there are believed to be more preparing to walk away from the Tories to join Reform, including MPs.
It is known that Ms Braverman was the top of Reform’s wishlist for defections as someone with large support among the Tory grassroots and a darling of the right. The ex-home secretary was considered too right-wing by fellow Conservative MPs to get enough support to run in the recent leadership election won by former rival Kemi Badenoch.
A senior Reform UK source confirmed to The Independent that Rael Braverman has joined their party but added that “it is wrong” to say that his wife will follow.
However, the source added: “Of course we would love Suella to join us. She would find a much happier home in Reform than staying with the Tories.”
The defections and continued question marks over Ms Badenoch’s fledgling leadership of the Tories coupled with a collapse in the polls for Labour has seen support for Reform surge. The recent Techne UK poll for The Independent put them up three points in just one week while others have them in second place.
