British Home Secretary Suella Braverman is merely the latest in a long line of far-right agitators seeking to exploit anti-immigrant sentiments for political gain. But the anger driving today’s global populist revolt is not really about immigrants, asylum seekers, or multiculturalism.
NEW YORK – If she was not already the bête noire of British liberals, UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s recent string of statements has cemented her image as a nationalist bigot. Despite facing criticism from within her own party, she has doubled down on her anti-immigrant, anti-refugee rhetoric.
In a recent speech in Washington, Braverman claimed that multiculturalism in Europe had failed, that uncontrolled immigration poses a threat to Western civilization, and that the United Nations’ 1951 Refugee Convention – which the United Kingdom ratified under Winston Churchill – is outdated. Braverman went on to claim that refugees facing persecution in their home countries for their gender or sexual identities are “bogus asylum seekers” who should no longer be allowed to enter Britain.
This is a mixture of callousness, straw dogs, and nonsense. In some countries, people can be executed for being gay. In other countries, women are not even allowed to go to school. Few serious people advocate “uncontrolled” immigration. And the British Refugee Council issued a report claiming that 74% of people arriving in Britain by boat in 2023 would be recognized as asylum seekers. This figure is based on statistics compiled by Braverman’s own Home Office.
NEW YORK – If she was not already the bête noire of British liberals, UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s recent string of statements has cemented her image as a nationalist bigot. Despite facing criticism from within her own party, she has doubled down on her anti-immigrant, anti-refugee rhetoric.
In a recent speech in Washington, Braverman claimed that multiculturalism in Europe had failed, that uncontrolled immigration poses a threat to Western civilization, and that the United Nations’ 1951 Refugee Convention – which the United Kingdom ratified under Winston Churchill – is outdated. Braverman went on to claim that refugees facing persecution in their home countries for their gender or sexual identities are “bogus asylum seekers” who should no longer be allowed to enter Britain.
This is a mixture of callousness, straw dogs, and nonsense. In some countries, people can be executed for being gay. In other countries, women are not even allowed to go to school. Few serious people advocate “uncontrolled” immigration. And the British Refugee Council issued a report claiming that 74% of people arriving in Britain by boat in 2023 would be recognized as asylum seekers. This figure is based on statistics compiled by Braverman’s own Home Office.