Who is Suella Braverman? Home Secretary campaigning for re-election

Home Secretary Suella Braverman is campaigning for re-election in the new constituency of Fareham and Waterlooville.

The general election takes place on July 4, and Ms Braverman is hoping to keep her seat. She has served as an MP for Fareham since 2015.

But who is Suella Braverman and what are her views?

Who is Suella Braverman?

Suella Braverman, 42, was born Sue-Ellen Fernandes, to parents Christie and Uma Fernandes, who are from Kenya and Mauritius. They emigrated to the UK in the 1960s and Ms Braverman was born in Harrow.

Before the Tory leadership contest in the summer, Ms Braverman told ITV: “I love this country, my parents came here with absolutely nothing and it was Britain that gave them hope, security, and opportunity. This country has afforded me incredible opportunities in education and in my career.

“I owe a debt of gratitude to this country and to serve as PM would be the greatest honour, so yes, I will try.”

She attended Heathfield School in London before studying law at Queens’ College, Cambridge. She later gained a Master’s degree in law from the University of Paris 1, Pantheon-Sorbonne, and then qualified as a New York attorney.

She specialised in public law and judicial review. She has also defended the Home Office in immigration cases, the Parole Board in challenges by prisoners, and the Ministry of Defence in matters relating to injuries sustained in battle.

Appointed Attorney General in 2020, Ms Braverman served as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Exiting the European Union from January to November 2018. She was elected as the Conservative MP for Fareham in May 2015.

In February 2018, she married Rael Braverman at the House of Commons. They had their first child in 2019 and their second child in 2021.

In July 2022, she called for Boris Johnson to resign following several Government scandals such as Partygate. She stood in the ensuing Tory Party leadership election, but was eliminated from the race in the second round of ballots, winning 27 votes. This was a reduction on her vote in the first round and the lowest of the remaining candidates.

She then endorsed Liz Truss as prime minister.

She replaced Priti Pratel as home secretary in September 2022 after Ms Truss became prime minister.

What are her views?

Ms Braverman is a hard Brexiteer and recently said she had “significant reservations about our relationship with the European Court of Human Rights“. This followed the European court’s decision to effectively ground the first flight to send asylum seekers out of the UK.

Ms Braverman has previously said schools do not have to accommodate transgender pupils. She said schools did not have to use trans pupils’ chosen names or pronouns or let them wear a uniform that aligns with their gender identity.

When four people were last year cleared of tearing down a statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol, Ms Braverman came under fire for saying she was considering whether to refer the case to the Court of Appeal.