A fiery debate erupted in the House of Commons today as Reform UK MP Suella Braverman accused Labour politicians of mocking public concerns regarding the ongoing small boats crisis.
During a heated exchange over the government’s new immigration bill, Braverman condemned the legislation as a “betrayal of the British people” and reiterated calls for the UK to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
The confrontation began when Braverman declared that the Labour government’s two-year pledge to “smash the gangs and stop the boats” had completely failed. In response to audible laughter from the government benches, she quickly fired back, stating, “They all laugh. They’re all laughing at the British people who are furious with this Labour government” .
Braverman confirmed that Reform UK has tabled an amendment opposing the Labour border bill, arguing that the legislation is doomed to fail because it does not extract the United Kingdom from the ECHR .
When challenged to name two benefits the ECHR provides to British citizens, Braverman dismissed the premise. She cited her decade of experience as a barrister—specifically defending the Home Office in immigration tribunals—as well as her time serving as Attorney General and Home Secretary. She argued that this extensive legal and executive experience proved that the ECHR consistently “thwarted government decision-making time and time again” .
The debate also saw Braverman launch a scathing attack on her former party. She claimed that in 2022, she was the first Conservative minister to publicly advocate for leaving the ECHR, a stance for which she says she was “attacked, criticized, and vilified” by her Conservative colleagues, including members of the current shadow cabinet . She dismissed the Conservative Party’s recent shift toward supporting an ECHR withdrawal as being “three years too late and too little,” declaring that the party “cannot be trusted” on the issue .
Instead, Braverman credited her Reform UK colleague, Nigel Farage, the Member of Parliament for Clacton. She praised Farage as the “original advocate” for leaving the ECHR and the solitary figure whose campaigning single-handedly forced Parliament to wake up and acknowledge the small boats crisis .
Braverman concluded by urging MPs to read a plan she published last year detailing how the UK could successfully leave the ECHR while protecting civil liberties and the Good Friday Agreement, insisting that a formal withdrawal is the only workable solution to secure the nation’s borders .
