A force for good

Suella Braverman: The Left may be ashamed of Britain’s history – but we should celebrate it

Attorney General is proud of the British Empire for what it brought to the world in terms of language, culture and the industrial revolution
By Christopher Hope, 
ASSOCIATE EDITOR (POLITICS) 17 June 2022 • 5:46pm

Suella Braverman
Suella Braverman says Britons should not have to apologise for being patriotic CREDIT: Jamie Lorriman for The Telegraph

The Left is “ashamed” and “fearful” of Britain’s history when in fact it should celebrate “the ingenuity and the genius of the British people”, Suella Braverman, the Attorney General, has said.

The British Empire was something that people should celebrate and her parents – who are from Mauritius and Kenya – had nothing but good to say about their “mother country”.

In an interview for this weekend’s Chopper’s Politics podcast, Ms Braverman: “I am proud of the British Empire. I am informed by the experience of my parents.”

She said her parents – who emigrated to the UK in the 1960s – “were born under the British Empire in the 1940s, and they have nothing but good things to tell me about the mother country”.

“Not least the fact that it was Britain that gave them opportunity and safety when they were young adults.”

She told how in Mauritius “the legal system, the language, some of the educational norms – are all influenced heavily by the British Empire.

“In Kenya, the administration, the civil service, the infrastructure, ports, railways, roads brought by the British – the British Empire was a force for good.

“That is not to deny the awful things as well that went on because of the time period and cultural norms at that time”.

Speaking to The Telegraph's Christopher Hope, Suella Braverman described Boris Johnson as a 'once in a generation leader'
Speaking to The Telegraph’s Christopher Hope, Suella Braverman described Boris Johnson as a ‘once in a generation leader’ CREDIT: Jamie Lorriman for The Telegraph

Ms Braverman took aim at the Left for having to apologise for being patriotic. “It’s born out of a left-wing apology for patriotism and an apology for Britain.

“Ashamed of our history, fearful of our past, a belief in the decline-ism of Britain, not the ingenuity and the genius of the British people.

“A small view of Britain that we are somehow insignificant and wrongdoers rather than a generous view of Britain in terms of what we’ve brought to the world, in terms of language, culture and the industrial revolution.”

Ms Braverman has been a key figure in drawing up the proposed changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol, accusing the media and the BBC of having “sour grapes” over Brexit.

“The BBC has a bias towards the EU, works on an assumption that the EU is always right and the UK is always wrong.

“Works on an assumption that our approach to migration is cruel and heartless, works on an assumption that this Government is somehow bad and the rest of the world is really good.”

Ms Braverman mounted a strong defence of Boris Johnson, saying the Prime Minister will fight the next general election.

Taking into account the Government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine “what you’ve got in Boris is a once in a generation kind of leader”.

Ms Braverman has been tipped by some Westminster insiders as a future Tory leader, but she declined to say if she wanted to succeed Mr Johnson.

She said: “I want Boris to continue. I think I’m deeply loyal to him. I wish more of my colleagues were loyal to him and reflected and accepted his phenomenal achievements for our party.”

Article in the Telegraph, 18 June 2022

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