Tories Row Back After Launching Brutal Attack On Reform Defector Suella Braverman's 'Mental Health'
The Conservatives have amended their initial reaction to Reform UK MP Suella Braverman’s defection after lashing out at her “mental health”.
The former Tory home secretary announced she was joining Nigel Farage’s new party on Monday – and the Conservative team quickly attacked her.
In their initial statement, a Tory spokesperson said: “It was always a matter of when, not if, Suella would defect.
“The Conservatives did all we could to look after Suella’s mental health, but she was clearly very unhappy.”
The initial message triggered significant backlash on social media, with Tory peer Stewart Jackson calling it a “nasty and unpleasant statement” on X.
He warned: “That’s another few thousand votes they’ve lost.”
Two hours later, the Tories sent out another “final” statement – and removed that second sentence, claiming the first draft was “sent out in error”.
Braverman has not publicly commented on the Tories’ response to her defection.
A Reform source said: “It’s a gross affront to millions of people in this country’s; it’s also not true.
“Whether you like Suella or not, she is a Cambridge-educated barrister who has served in a series of extraordinarily senior positions in this country. It goes without saying that she has never been diagnosed with a mental health condition.
″[This] is a testament to the extent to which the Tory party is in real panic mode and is prepared to say anything.”
The keen eurosceptic announced earlier on Monday that she felt she had “come home” by joining Farage’s Reform.
Braverman was known for trying to push the Conservatives further right when her party was in government.
She held multiple ministerial positions under the last four Tory prime ministers, including attorney-general and home secretary.
As of this afternoon, the Conservatives’ final statement read:
“It was always a matter of when, not if, Suella would defect.
“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.
“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. She has now decided to try her luck with Nigel Farage, who said last year he didn’t want her in Reform.
“They really are doing our ‘Spring cleaning’!
“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 Conservative Party is now 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.”