Tories heading for defeat at general election, Suella Braverman warns

The Conservatives are heading for a defeat at the next general election, former home secretary Suella Braverman has warned.

Ms Braverman expressed concerns for the fate of the party following recent damning polls, and said she hopes it changes its course.

The former minister also ruled herself out of a Tory leadership bid and said she did not envy Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

A recent YouGov poll found Labour would win 403 seats from across the UK, leading to a 154-seat majority in the House of Commons.

The Conservatives would win just 155 seats, down from the 365 seats they won at the 2019 general election.

Speaking to LBC, she said: “I’m very concerned, I’m very concerned about what poll after poll demonstrates, and it’s my job – and I sought to do this as home secretary – to speak honestly, to speak the truth, even if it may be uncomfortable.

“I owe that to the people who have sent me to Parliament, and I owe that to you, and so the honest truth is that we are heading for a defeat, to put it mildly, at the general election.

“I very much hope that we change course and that we improve the offer to the British people. Ultimately, measures on tax cuts, measures on migration, measures on national security and social cohesion are insufficient by this Government.

“We need to go further, we need to demonstrate to the British people that we’re on their side, that we’re serious about stopping the boats, that we’re actually serious about curbing unprecedented levels of illegal migration, and unfortunately we haven’t managed to do that.”

The Fareham MP’s criticism of the party comes as divisions appeared to emerge with Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron taking a more strident approach to criticism than some of his colleagues, including Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden.

Mr Dowden suggested on Sunday that Israel is being held to an “incredibly high standard” compared with other nations and claimed there is “a bit of relish from some people about the way in which they are pushing this case against Israel”.

Downing Street has insisted the Government is “completely united” in its stance on Israel.

Ms Braverman said: “It’s a very difficult job that (Rishi Sunak)’s got on his hands, and I don’t envy him… the state of the party is not a good one, and I’ve been urging him for some time to change course.”

She also ruled herself out of a Tory leadership bid by stating: “I’m not thinking about any kind of leadership campaign.

“Rishi Sunak is our Prime Minister, I fully expect him to lead us into the next general election.”