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Suella Braverman MP: speeches

66 published records · newest first.

Speeches

  • 14 Sept 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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    We all know that child safeguarding is non-negotiable, so does the Secretary of State share my concern that the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children’s most recent schools briefing appears to put the safety of girls at risk, given that it has removed the express requirement that adult supervisors of pupils getting dressed should be of the same gender or sex? Does the Secretary of State agree that the NSPCC should clarify its guidance to comply with the law so that men and boys have no place in girls’ changing rooms?

  • 9 Sept 2026 · Education and Skills Reform · Hansard source
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    There are aspects of the Secretary of State’s statement that I welcome. I was going to say that no one had yet mentioned white working-class boys, but she mentioned them just a minute ago. She will know that the data is compelling. White working-class children, in particular boys, have one of the lowest participation rates in GCSEs, are more likely to flag as persistently absent from school and have the worst educational outcomes. Does she agree that that failure reflects the profound challenges with the curriculum, teacher training, discipline in the classroom, parental engagement and vocational training, and that we need targeted measures rather than generic approaches?

  • 7 Sept 2026 · Dover and Portsmouth: Protests · Hansard source
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    I was in Portsmouth harbour this morning, near Eastney marina, speaking to local people in Fareham and Waterlooville. This is the message that they wanted me to send the Government. They are terrified, furious and desperate. They are not far-right racists. Only last week, a migrant man was arrested on suspicion of raping a 14-year-old boy in the area, and what are the Government doing? They are handing out leaflets to illegal migrants, asking them not to rape British girls and women. The Government’s response has been, frankly, pathetic. Given that these are unlikely to be the last illegal migrants in Portsmouth, I have two questions for the Minister. Will she give the House a guarantee that in no circumstances will a migrant processing centre, temporary or permanent, be established in Portsmouth? What assurance can she give me that the national security of the naval dockyard in Portsmouth will be maintained, given that the invasion has now reached Hampshire?

  • 13 Jul 2026 · Death of Ann Widdecombe · Hansard source
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    Ann’s tragic murder has shocked the nation. Dear Ann was the personification of political courage, patriotic tradition and the importance of faith. I got to know her when I was Home Secretary, through her immense support for the Amess family when we unveiled his plaque—a poignant reminder of the threat facing our democracy today. The nation has lost an exemplary public servant and a force of nature in Ann. People are free to disagree with Ann’s views, but some of the online comment that we have seen in the aftermath has been frankly disgusting. It has come from so-called reputable journalists, including those working at Sky News and The Mail on Sunday , and we have read some conspiracy theories in The Time s ; and today we have heard a Labour Member of Parliament apologise for her intemperate comments. Does the Home Secretary agree that that kind of language only serves to worsen the problem with which we are dealing, rather than being part of the solution? Will she join me in urging calm in the media, and among those on the left? They should afford Ann some dignity in death, and show some respect to their opponents, instead of whipping up hatred.

  • 13 Jul 2026 · Immigration and Asylum Bill · Hansard source
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    Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

  • 13 Jul 2026 · Immigration and Asylum Bill · Hansard source
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    It is after a process of analysis: 10 years as a barrister, five of which were spent defending the Home Office in the immigration tribunals; time as Attorney General, finding and seeing how the ECHR thwarted Government decision making time and again, including in relation to eco-protesters and using articles 10 and 11; and then as Home Secretary in 2022. That is why, in 2022, I was the first Conservative Minister to say publicly that if we wanted to stop the boats, we needed to leave the ECHR. For that, I was attacked by my former Conservative colleagues, including the current leader of the Conservative party, the right hon. Member for North West Essex (Mrs Badenoch), and many members of the shadow Cabinet—many of whom still privately oppose leaving the ECHR today, as they did publicly four years ago. I am glad that it has taken the Conservative party three years to catch up with me, but it is three years too late and too little. When they had the power and the mandate, and when they had Ministers telling them that we needed to leave the ECHR, they blocked, attacked, criticised and vilified people like me. I will not take any lectures from the Conservative party, which cannot be trusted one bit on leaving the ECHR. The former hon. Member for Clacton was the original advocate for leaving the ECHR; he first raised the alarm about the small boats crisis, and it was only thanks to his pressure and his campaigning, which he led single-handedly, that this place was forced to wake up and take some action. We need to leave the ECHR, and I have set out a plan on how to do so, which was published last year. I urge all hon. Members to read it—the Conservative party copied it about a year later. It sets out how to leave, why to leave, how to protect civil liberties in doing so, how we can amend the Good Friday agreement and protect Northern Ireland in doing so, and why it is what the British people deserve if we are going to stop the boats.

  • 13 Jul 2026 · Immigration and Asylum Bill · Hansard source
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    The hon. Gentleman is almost making my argument for me. The whole reason the Home Office has to enter into expensive contracts and spend £5 million of British taxpayers’ money every day to house asylum seekers is that the ECHR imposes onerous duties on the state to accommodate unlimited numbers of asylum seekers, without any thought as to cost effectiveness.

  • 13 Jul 2026 · Immigration and Asylum Bill · Hansard source
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    We have read reports recently that the Home Secretary’s important reforms to indefinite leave to remain are being watered down because of the views of the incoming Prime Minister. We have also read of the letter from 80 Labour MPs, many of whom are in the Chamber today, who oppose her plans today. My simple question is: what are we all doing here right now? Is there any guarantee that her reforms and the Bill will survive contact with the next Prime Minister, who will be assuming power without any scrutiny, without any transparency, and with absolutely no accountability as to what his plans are?

  • 13 Jul 2026 · Immigration and Asylum Bill · Hansard source
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    I will not because I do not have any time. Let us go through this. Part 1 is about the independent immigration appeals authority. That will get ripped to shreds by article 6 of the ECHR, with claims in the High Court saying that it does not offer a right to a fair trial. Part 2 is on article 8 reform, but that will get destroyed by article 8 claims in the High Court, and it will probably get overturned by Strasbourg. Part 3 of the Bill is on protection status and asylum. Article 3 of the ECHR is about rights against torture and inhumane or degrading treatment, and that will block the operation of part 3. The Bill is not fit for purpose, and it will let the British people down. Now I will give way to the hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells (Mike Martin).

  • 13 Jul 2026 · Immigration and Asylum Bill · Hansard source
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    I agree with one word that the hon. Member for Nottingham East (Nadia Whittome) said, “betrayal”, but the Bill is not a betrayal of the Labour party; it is a betrayal of the British people. This Bill will fail, just as the Labour Government have been promising for two years that they will smash the gangs and stop the boats, but they have failed— [ Interruption. ] Labour Members all laugh; they are all laughing at the British people who are furious with this Labour Government. This Government have failed, the last Tory Government failed, because they have been lying to the British people— [ Interruption. ] I will get to that. Why will the Bill fail? Why is it a total and utter farce? It is because of the European convention on human rights. Reform UK has tabled a reasoned amendment opposing the Bill because it does not do what is needed. It does not take the United Kingdom out of the ECHR, and that is what we need to do if we have to stop the boats.

  • 22 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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    The horrific sexual abuse and murder of baby Preston Davey has shocked the nation. It has been reported that Adoption Now, the agency that placed baby Preston with his murderer, and Oldham council, the agency responsible for his safety, missed several safeguarding reports and potentially neglected to stop what was a preventable death. My question for the Secretary of State is simple: among the army of health visitors, social workers and medics who saw baby Preston, why did nobody raise the alarm? What action is being taken now to safeguard the welfare of those children under the care of Oldham council?

  • 22 Jun 2026 · Pathways Study: Puberty Suppression · Hansard source
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    No child is born in the wrong body. The scandal of thousands of children being put through irreversible medical intervention such as puberty blockers causing infertility, among other harms, has gone on for more than a decade, and it will go down as one of the worst examples of state failure in our history. Officials advise and Ministers decide. Why does the Secretary of State not use the considerable executive power vested in him personally to overrule his official advice, pause the puberty blockers trial and put child safety first?

  • 8 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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    Earlier this year, the race and faith network at Greater Manchester fire and rescue service wrote to its firefighters targeting anyone who might be representing Reform UK at the local elections in what can only be described as an attempt at intimidation. Firefighters can legitimately stand in local elections. Does the Minister agree that such politicisation and institutional bullying is wholly unacceptable? What will the defending democracy taskforce do to investigate that and stop it happening again?

  • 8 Jun 2026 · Digital Safety: Children · Hansard source
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    I have met victims of online sexual exploitation—it is an absolutely devastating crime that needs to be stopped. However, I fear that the Government’s plans are going to make things worse for everyone while taking little action to protect children online. The Australian model has not worked, and I fear that these Government plans will effectively open the door to state-mandated surveillance and digital ID for the entire population. We all want children to be safe online. Brilliant technology exists, such as parental control software and other excellent mechanisms; can we not use that technology more, rather than imposing an authoritarian ID database on the entire population?

  • 2 Jun 2026 · Milburn Review: Interim Report · Hansard source
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    Some 70% of graduates say that university just was not worth it—and is it any wonder, when we have seen an increase in low-quality degrees, people coming out with crippling debt, and lower job prospects for graduates? I welcome many elements in the Milburn review, but if we are to fix this crisis of youth unemployment, we need not tweaks, but an overhaul of vocational training and a correction to the Blairite obsession with university, so that fewer young people are scammed by the great university con.

  • 2 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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    I, too, offer my condolences to the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State will be familiar with the Russian-backed AQUIND application for a submarine interconnector that will cut through Portsmouth naval dockyard, affecting my constituency, and go on to France. The Ministry of Defence has raised national security concerns. We have been waiting over a year for a decision from the Secretary of State on the application. When will he issue one?

  • 2 Jun 2026 · Murder of Henry Nowak · Hansard source
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    Henry Nowak was murdered near my constituency and local people are rightly furious with Hampshire police—not only the officers who attended the scene, but those leading the force. It is important to remember that Henry’s murderer accused him of racism. In honour of Henry’s legacy, it is important that we are all abundantly clear that the judge found absolutely zero evidence to back up that claim. Does the Home Secretary agree that a false accusation of racism against a white person is just as bad as, if not worse than, a legitimate claim of racism, because of the deceit? Does she also agree that, watching the bodycam footage, it is clear that police officers treated Henry with disdain, contempt and arguably negligence because of the colour of his skin? We are hearing No. 10 say that two-tier policing does not exist. I ask the Home Secretary: where is the leadership today? British people are furious. The leadership is not coming from the Government.

  • 1 Jun 2026 · Child Sexual Offender Data · Hansard source
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    The hon. Member is making a powerful speech. Three years ago, when I was Home Secretary, I set up the grooming gangs taskforce. In its first year, it led to 500 arrests and safeguarded over 4,000 girls. I am proud of that, but it was not nearly enough. Just for daring to tell the truth that, in places like Rotherham, these were racialised crimes perpetrated largely by Pakistani Muslim men against white girls, I was attacked by—it has to be said—my own Conservative party colleagues for being Islamophobic and for amplifying a far-right narrative. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that ethnicity reporting is essential if we are to combat the institutional fear that has taken over the police, social workers, schools, parts of our media and political parties, and if we are to get justice for victims?

  • 20 May 2026 · Banking Hubs · Hansard source
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    Will the Minister give way?

  • 20 May 2026 · Banking Hubs · Hansard source
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    Will the Minister give way?

  • 20 May 2026 · Banking Hubs · Hansard source
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    Will the Minister give way?

  • 20 Apr 2026 · Cost of Living: Students · Hansard source
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    The number of foreign students claiming fraudulent student loans is at a record high. That is making a mockery of the student finance system and costing the British taxpayer millions of pounds which could otherwise be diverted to support British students. What are the Government doing to reduce this fraudulent practice and fix our broken student loans system?

  • 15 Apr 2026 · Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill · Hansard source
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    I know the Minister wants the best for children and is working hard to achieve that goal, but the Government’s guidance makes it clear that non-statutory guidance is not to be “taken as a complete or definitive statement of the law nor as a substitute for the relevant legislation.” The fact is that the evidence is damning about smartphone usage and children. Why will she therefore not take the step now and support a statutory ban on mobile phones in schools?

  • 25 Mar 2026 · Foreign Financial Influence and Interference: UK Politics · Hansard source
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    I am going to mention the elephant in the room. Earlier this month, the husband of a sitting Labour MP—the hon. Member for East Kilbride and Strathaven (Joani Reid)—was arrested on suspicion of spying for China. The hon. Member was subsequently suspended from the Labour party. It has been reported that she received a donation from her husband’s firm, which presumably would be covered by the Government’s plans. I do not expect any comment on that live investigation, but in the light of that and the historic case of Christine Lee, Labour MPs and the Chinese Communist party, will the Secretary of State confirm that the measures he has announced will apply equally to members of his own party who find themselves compromised by the Chinese Communist party?

  • 25 Mar 2026 · Foreign Financial Influence and Interference: UK Politics · Hansard source
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    indicated assent.

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