Braverman's Scarlet Letter
On Suella Braverman vs. Rishi Sunak and the future of the Conservative Party
“In the long term, though, Ms. Braverman is the winner here. Voters know what she stands for, even if they don’t like it, whereas only political junkies can make a case for Mr. Sunak. Polling after the Cabinet shuffle saw support for the Conservative Party drop below 20 percent, the lowest since last year’s disastrous leadership of Ms. Liz Truss, who only lasted 50 days in office.
In the next year, maybe the economy will boom, the boats will be stopped, and Britain will have an insurgent 2024 economy, finally realizing Brexit’s potential. But assuming that doesn’t happen, Mr. Sunak will fall like Ms. Truss, and Keir Starmer will lead a new Labour Party government.
In the meantime, Ms. Braverman has set herself up as the most likely future Leader of the Opposition; a role for which she is perfect, as it requires strong convictions about what you oppose, but no ability to pass policy.”
Out now in The New York Sun: my piece on the political shitstorm in Britain, the death of norms, and how competence doesn’t always win. Read it now.