The Conservative Party has faced significant criticism and been forced to retract a controversial statement that targeted former Home Secretary Suella Braverman's mental health, following her dramatic defection to Nigel Farage's Reform UK.
Defection Sparks Controversial Response
Suella Braverman's decision to abandon the Conservative Party and join Reform UK today has triggered a political storm, with the Tories initially responding with what many have described as a deeply personal and inappropriate attack. The original Conservative statement included the line: "The Conservatives did all we could to look after Suella's mental health, but she was clearly very unhappy."
Immediate Backlash and Withdrawal
The reference to Braverman's mental health provoked immediate condemnation from across the political spectrum. Conservative peer Lord Jackson labelled the remark as "nasty and unpleasant", while Labour MP Jake Richards took to social media platform X to urge decent Conservatives to call out the statement, describing it as "beneath them".
Facing mounting pressure, the Conservative Party removed the contentious line from a reissued statement several hours later, claiming the earlier version was a draft sent out in error. The corrected statement from a Conservative Party spokesman now reads: "It was always a matter of when, not if, Suella would defect."
Charity Condemns Mental Health Reference
Mental health charities have strongly criticised the initial statement. Brian Dow, deputy chief executive of Rethink Mental Illness, stated: "Employers should never disclose any details about the mental health of their employees or former staff. Doing so says far more about them than the person they are referring to. People living with mental ill-health do not deserve to have their experiences trivialised or used as a political football."
Revised Conservative Statement
The amended Conservative response takes a different tack, focusing on Braverman's political ambitions and electoral record. The statement notes: "She says she feels that she has 'come home', which will come as a surprise to the people who chose not to elect a Reform MP in her constituency in 2024."
It continues with pointed criticism: "There are some people who are MPs because they care about their communities and want to deliver a better country. There are others who do it for their personal ambition. Suella stood for leader of the Conservatives in 2022 and came sixth, behind Kemi and Tom Tugendhat. In 2024 she could not even muster enough supporters to get on the ballot."
Political Context and Implications
The defection comes as Nigel Farage continues to build Reform UK's parliamentary presence with former Conservative figures. The Conservative statement suggests this is part of a pattern, remarking: "As always happens with Reform, they unveil defections just when the Labour government is tearing itself to pieces - Rayner, Mandelson, now Burnham. Reform are too busy opposing the Conservatives to hold the Labour government to account."
The statement concludes by positioning the Conservatives as "the only party that believes in smaller government, less welfare and Britain living within its means, and has the team and the experience to get Britain working again."
This incident highlights the increasingly bitter divisions within British politics and raises important questions about appropriate discourse regarding mental health in political exchanges. The rapid withdrawal of the initial statement suggests recognition within Conservative circles that such personal attacks cross ethical boundaries, even in the heated atmosphere of political defections.
