REFORM UK’s education spokesperson Suella Braverman has said that half of young people will need to take on a trade to help re-build the country.
She told GB News Political Editor Christopher Hope: “I’ve been motivated to get into politics because of education. As I said in my comments, education really shapes the destiny of our country, and it was the original factor that drove me to get into politics.
“As I said, I helped set up one of the first one of the first free schools, and so yes, I’m really, really honoured to have a chance now to speak about I’ve been very much occupied with home affairs, policing borders for many years, legal issues, but actually, my real passion in politics is education.”
Asked if she was happy that Robert Jenrick has a more senior role than her, she said: “Contrary to what is very typical in the Conservative Party, I would say, which is a lot of jostling, a lot of power plays, I’m very, very honoured to have this role. I’m really chuffed for Richard, Zia and Robert with the briefs that they’ve been handed.
“I feel part of a great team, and I know that everybody, actually all the MPs, have huge amounts of expertise and value to add. And I’ve been really enjoying it – I’ve only been in a few weeks. I’m still a new girl, but it’s a great team, and I’m blown away by the talent in the parliamentary party.“
She said she agreed with Nigel Farage when he said the in-fighting would not be tolerated: “He’s absolutely right. Listen, one of the big reasons I left the Conservative Party is because it became so toxic, it became unhealthy, and I was largely driven out by my own colleagues.
“I’ve dealt with abuse and attacks from my own party colleagues for years, very often not reacting. And I’m very pleased now to be part of a very productive and mission-led team which is focused ultimately on serving the British people.”
Asked if she was too posh to connect with voters, Braverman said: “No, I wouldn’t call myself posh, but I went to both a state school and a private school in the 80s and the 90s, it cost a fraction of what it does today.
“I would say, and I just say this about my parents, you know, they came to this country with nothing. They’re working class people. They didn’t in themselves even go to university until they were in their 40s, as mature students at the local Polytechnic. And they sacrificed everything to give me a good education.
“They went without holidays. They drove a battered car, my parents, I had second hand clothes, all these kinds of things. We are not, we were not posh people. We were not wealthy people. My parents sacrificed because they wanted to invest in my education, and as I said, I wouldn’t be on that stage today were it not for the great sacrifice that they made and the amazing education that I benefited from.”
Asked about her new role, she said: “Yes, it’s education, skills and equalities. Listen, I think on skills, we’ve got a big task. As I said, there are 700,000 graduates who are currently unemployed, I think about 400,000 of those are on Universal Credit.
“On average, every graduate comes out saddled with about £50,000 worth of debt. So there’s something going fundamentally wrong in our higher education sector. There are too many substandard courses being delivered by substandard institutions, and we need to bring an end to that.
“Equally, we have shortages in our trades, in construction, in nursing. We’re not getting enough of our own young people to take up these very valuable roles. So we need a re-balancing of our further education and our higher education sector.
“We need, as I said, we need 50% of young people going into the trades. These are noble professions which will be part of the rebuilding of our country.”
On Reform’s legal bid to overturn Labour’s bid to postpone local elections, she said: “I think this is about standing up for democracy, because millions of people were denied their vote unlawfully. There’s exceptional circumstances like the pandemic – everyone can understand that that’s provided for in the law, but in some circumstances, the Labour government postponed some of these local elections, not for one year, but for two years.
“And there’s really no exceptional circumstances to justify such a delay. It’s a flagrant breach of the law. And when the government breaks the law, it’s only right that citizens stand up against it, and that’s what Reform did, Reform and Nigel Farage took the lead bringing this legal action despite the naysayers, and forced the government into a humiliating U-turn, but absolutely essential, because now millions of people will be re-enfranchised.”
On critics who say Reform is another version of the Tories, she said: “No, listen, Reform UK is now the right wing party in British politics. It has replaced the Conservative Party.
“And if anyone has any doubts about that, they just need to look at the results on May the eighth to see the Tory Party or the Conservative Party will cease to be a national party after that date, they have become an irrelevance to British politics.
“Reform UK is speaking for, at last, millions of patriotic Brits who want strong borders, who want a prosperous economy, who want common sense in their schools and want opportunity for their young people. I don’t think particularly that’s right or left wing, I think that’s actually the national interest. And so this is the party, not just to the right, but actually the party that will restore, will restore some sanity and fix Britain.”
Asked if any other Conservatives are going to defect to Reform UK, she said: “Listen, I know from a few weeks ago that the morale is very low in the Conservative parliamentary party, and there are other Conservatives, particularly on the right of the party, who are very worried about the state of British politics, and they are thinking about it.
“So, I can’t speak for them. I can’t speak for Nigel. Ultimately, it’s his decision, and I will support the decision. I talk to colleagues in the Conservative Party, that’s all I’ll say.”
