Suella Braverman Declares Im Not English Sparks Outcry

Suella Braverman has sparked an online backlash by declaring she is “not English”.

The former Tory home secretary, who was born in Harrow, raised in Wembley, went to school in Brent, studied at Cambridge University and lives in Hampshire, would only say she is “proud to be British”.

Her comments came after former prime minister Rishi Sunak, who put Braverman in his cabinet, rejected suggestions that only white people can be English.

Writing in the Sunday Times, he said: “If you are born and brought up in England and view it as home, what are you other than English?

“Attempting to deny people their Englishness or Britishness because of the colour of their skin is a recipe for alienation, for a two-tier society. How are children who hear this meant to feel?”

But Braverman, who defected to Reform UK last year and is now the party’s education spokesperson, insisted that Englishness is “an ethnicity” and therefore she does not qualify.

In a post on X, she said: “As I’ve said before, I’m not English. I’m proud to be British.

“My family and ancestors have a link to Britain which spans centuries. But in no way are we English. Yes, I was born in England, speak English and support the England football team. And indeed, I love England and the English people.

“But to say I’m English is to take a ‘laissez-faire, anything-goes’ attitude to ethnicity, citizenship and identity. It also denies me my Asian heritage.

“The liberals (many of them in today’s Conservative Party) take this cosmopolitan approach to Englishness. They’re terrified of being called racist so they say that anyone, as long as they’re born here, can be English. I take the conservative approach.

“Englishness is an ethnicity. There have been English people for centuries and we need to recognise this more if we are to start taking a more muscular approach to citizenship and nationality. And no, it’s not racist to say this.

“Other countries have no qualms in limiting who can be part of their citizenry and use ethnicity and culture as criteria. Here, the dogma of multiculturalism has been so corrosive that some people don’t actually know who we are anymore.”

A poll by the More in Common think-tank last year found that 74% of English people believe someone can be English regardless of their ethnicity or skin colour, compared to just 17% who think those factors are important.

Meanwhile, a Focaldata poll in February this year found that 83% believe someone can be considered English regardless of skin colour, with 10% saying they must be white.

Braverman’s comments also led to criticism from other social media users.

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