Suella Braverman’s husband has seemingly set his wife a deadline to defect to Reform UK as speculation mounts as to whether the former Home Secretary will switch to the populist party.
Rael Braverman, who defected to Reform UK late last year, gave a timeframe for Tories to sign up after a number leading Conservative enlisted into Nigel Farage’s ranks.
Ex-MPs Dame Andrea Jenkyns, Marco Longhi and Aidan Burley all switched from the Tories to Reform UK at the tail end of 2024.
Despite Reform UK last month denying its courting disgruntled Conservatives, Rael Braverman set a three-month deadline for new Reformers, including his wife.
Suella Braverman’s husband appears to set deadline for wife to defect to Reform
Responding to ex-Ukip donor Arron Banks’ call for a deadline, Rael Braverman said: “I agree! I would make it three months from now and then close the door.”
The 49-year-old was commenting on Banks own warning to Tories. "I think Reform should set a deadline for any remaining Conservative that wants to move," Banks said. "The rest can go down with the ship."
Rael Braverman's comments come just weeks after his wife refused to rule out defecting to Reform UK.
After claiming there is "lots of common ground" between the Tories and Reform UK, the Fareham & Waterlooville MP told The Telegraph: “I was a Conservative Party member from the age of 14.
"I’m also a lifelong Conservative voter, I want a Conservative Prime Minister, I want a Conservative Government. And ultimately, in British politics, there isn’t space for two conservative parties.
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Dame Andrea Jenkyns and Marco Longhi
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“So we need to find an accommodation. There’s no way that we’re going to stop Labour.
However, her husband Rael appears to believe a vote for the Tories is now helping prop up Labour's position.
“If Reform is polling [at] 26 per cent and we’re on 24 per cent, that is a recipe for another five years of Labour. So we need to think about what we do about this problem.”
Responding to her husband's defection, the Fareham & Waterlooville MP separately said: “My husband and I have a healthy respect for each other’s independence – he doesn’t tell me how to do my job, and I don’t tell him how to pick a political party.”
However, it would appear that Rael Braverman is coming to the conclusion that a vote for Kemi Badenoch is a "wasted vote".
In an exchange on social media yesterday, he wrote: "You know it is."
The 49-year-old added: "It's over for them [the Tories] no matter who leads them."
Suella Braverman PASuella Braverman also previously said that the Tories made the "wrong decision" to expel ex-deputy chairman Lee Anderson.
Anderson, who defected to Reform UK soon after and later retained his Ashfield seat in the 2024 General Election, lost the whip after being embroiled in a row with London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
Despite the ex-Home Secretary's previous comments about "common ground", Reform UK consistently rejects any suggestion of a merger or a pact.
Chairman Zia Yusuf even compared the populist party joining forces with the Tories to Netflix merging with Blockbuster.
Rael Braverman's social media exchange came after Find Out Now handed Reform UK a four-point lead over Labour.
Nigel FarageGETTYThe survey suggested Farage is edging himself closer to No10, with swathes of Brexit-backing seats now being in play for Reform UK
Find Out Now found that 29 per cent of Britons would now back Reform UK, with 25 per cent supporting Labour and just 18 per cent backing the Tories.
Such a scenario woud likely see Reform UK snatch Fareham & Waterlooville by 3.3 per cent.
However, the poll comes less than a year after Suella Braverman retained her Hampshire seat with a majority of 12.1 per cent over Labour in the 2024 General Election.
Kemi BadenochPAA Reform UK source told the People's Channel: “We’re not going to take everyone but they’re just as fed up as the country is.”
“We aren’t going to take everyone who wants to join,” another insider said. “Some just aren’t for us.”
A source closely connected to Reform UK added: “Other former Tory MPs were milling around, so they’re clearly discerning about who they are bringing in.
"Most of these people have pre-existing relationships with Nigel, anyway."
It was even claimed that Reform UK has turned down around 30 per cent of Conservative defectors at council level.
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